Council questions sewer relocation, easements and rate impacts as Kellogg Creek dam removal advances

City staff and project partners told the Milwaukie City Council on Aug. 19 that the planned Kellogg Creek dam removal and restoration project faces three constraints that will shape design, funding and schedule: a sanitary sewer line routed through the impoundment, the need for conservation easements on adjacent private parcels, and coordination with nearby projects and rights‑of‑way.

Joseph Virilio, assistant city manager and project manager for the city’s team, told the council, “we have run into some some sticky wickets so to speak,” and described the sewer line as a key constraint. Staff said the pipe runs across the impoundment near the Lake Village apartments and currently carries gravity flow; design options developed by the consultant team include (a) replacing the reach with a sanitary pump station and force main, (b) constructing a raised pipe alignment, or (c) other mitigation that would leave the pipe in place and alter channel grades. The consulting team reported the pump‑station alternative is currently the…