Consortium offers $3.85 million to extend Boardman water to West Glen to address nitrate contamination

Jared Tesh, managing director of the Clean Water Consortium, told the Boardman City Council workshop on May 13 that the consortium has secured legislative and other funding and is proposing to extend municipal water service to the West Glen area to address long‑standing nitrate contamination. “We have acquired through state, a legislative allotment through, and other funding sources, $3,850,000 to devote specifically to this project,” Tesh said.

The consortium framed the proposal around a feasibility study by Meyer Engineering that concentrated on West Glen as a manageable initial project. Tesh said the study estimated a deliverable project cost in the ballpark of $3.5 million (with a two‑year inflation adjustment to 2027), and that the consortium’s funding would cover the extension and household hookups so the city would not need to provide upfront capital.

Tesh said the plan aims to deliver culinary (drinking) water only; resident wells could still be used for irrigation. He estimated the proposal would serve about 80–100 households in West Glen, add hydrants along the new main to improve fire mitigation, and create system redundancies that also benefit Boardman’s distribution system.

Councilors pressed for additional detail on rates, how household sign‑ups would work and long‑term maintenance. The consortium and city staff identified the next procedural step as executing an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) to produce refined engineering (including the city’s hydraulic model) and updated cost estimates before the council considers specific commitments.