Oregon’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund mission is to provide technical assistance and below-market rate loans for planning, design and construction projects that improve water quality and environmental outcomes. This program, managed by DEQ, helps protect public health, restore natural areas and promotes economic development statewide. Since the program began in 1988, communities all over Oregon have benefited from more than $1 billion in water infrastructure investments. In a the most recent annual report, DEQ executed 11 new loans through the Fund, totaling $19,521,500 between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022.
Since 2018, the Fund has helped the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District (CSWCD) expand their program and enabling critical septic system repair across Clackamas County. We asked our friend, Heather Nielsen, Conservation Investments Coordinator at CSWCD, to write about her experience working with DEQ and the Fund.
The CSWCD provides conservation services to people who live within Clackamas County. CSWCD works in cooperation with public and private land managers and owners as well as local community partners to conserve shared natural resources. Maintaining healthy streams and groundwater is a CWSCD priority which benefits the watershed and the public. Watershed protection in Clackamas County led CSWCD to provide two programs that help County residents who need to repair or replace part of their existing septic system: The Septic Repair Grant Program and the Residential Septic System Repair and Replacement Loan Program.
Since 2018, DEQ’s Clean Water State Revolving Fund has provided loans to homeowners for repairing their septic systems. The loan program was initially limited to properties located within the Clackamas River Basin. Its success led the CSWCD to quickly expand the program to cover the entire county. By 2019, interest that had been attached to existing loans was forgiven by CSWCD and all new loans are offered at a zero percent interest rate. The loans may have up to a 10-year term and there are no prepayment penalties. The program took a brief hiatus between 2021 and 2023 due to staffing changes, but it is currently up and running. Since 2023, fourteen new loans have helped to repair old septic systems in Beavercreek, Canby, Colton, Damascus, Eagle Creek, Estacada, Molalla, Oregon City, and Rhododendron.
At the end of 2022, CSWCD applied for and received an $800,000 grant from DEQ’s Onsite Septic Financial Aid Program. The Septic Repair Grant Program is available as part of the American Rescue Plan Act funds that the 2021 Oregon legislature allocated to DEQ. Income qualification ensures that these grant funds go to those who need them most to repair their septic systems. Helping long-term residents who are now on fixed incomes stay in their homes has been an additional bonus to the neighborhoods targeted by initial outreach efforts.
The initial outreach for the Septic Repair Grant Program focused on older, established developments and areas near creeks and rivers where high groundwater is often present. This includes communities in Canby, Eagle Creek, Estacada, Molalla, the Mt. Hood Villages, Mulino, and Sandy. The Clackamas County Septic and Onsite Wastewater Program and the septic contractors involved in the program have also directed residents to this program. The grant program is open to all eligible residents in Clackamas County and funds may be used for septic tank repairs, replacement drainfields, or connection to existing sewer laterals.
The Septic Repair Grant Program began accepting applications in May 2023 and awarded 23 grants. Of those 23 projects, 15 have been completed and signed off by the Clackamas County Septic and Onsite Wastewater Program. Due to the overwhelming need for these services, the funds available for this program were fully obligated by August 2023. In November 2023, DEQ allocated another $400,000 of grant funding to CSWCD and applications are again being accepted . Funds are available on a first come, first served basis to those who qualify. Under the current agreement, all funds must be obligated to projects before Sept. 20, 2024. However, construction on the septic system repair or sewer connection projects does not need to be completed until Dec. 31, 2026.
Funds provided by the Septic Repair Grant Program can also be used retroactively for properties impacted by the 2020 wildfires. Income qualification still applied to these grants and the systems needed to be installed after March 3, 2021. To date, CWSCD has been able to help one resident recoup the costs of required repairs.
Residents have provided a lot of positive feedback about the program. A Rhododendron resident stated, “Thank you so much for your assistance with this project. I feel like it’s a miracle that there was a program for funds, especially after seeing the amount of work that goes into a [replacement] septic. I don’t know how I would’ve been able to afford it.”
After utilizing this grant program to install a sewer connection, a Lake Oswego resident said, “Thank you so much for both the pleasant experience and the amazing assistance the Conservation District has provided for this endeavor. It was so much less stressful than expected to go through this whole process of connecting to the city sewer.”
More information on the Septic Repair Grant Program can be found here.
More information on the Residential Septic System Repair and Replacement Loan Program can be found here.
By Heather Nielsen
Heather Nielsen has been with the Clackamas Soil and Water Conservation District since December 2022. Her first task at CSWCD was to successfully write the grant application for the Septic Repair Grant Program.