Local brief
Oregon's first Water Professionals Appreciation Week runs Oct. 3–11; Clackamas WES says thanks to the crews behind your tap and toilet
Under House Bill 4005, Oregon now sets aside the first Saturday of October through the following Sunday to recognize water, wastewater and stormwater workers. Clackamas Water Environment Services is marking the first one, Oct. 3 to 11, 2026, and pointing young people toward careers in public water. Notice Nearby brief, not Legal Publication.
Oregon is celebrating its first Water Professionals Appreciation Week from Saturday, Oct. 3, through Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES), the county's wastewater and stormwater utility, announced the week in a Sept. 30 news release and an Oct. 5 newsletter.
Why there's a week now: the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 4005 in its 2026 session. The law designates the first Saturday of October through the end of the Sunday of the following weekend, every year, as Water Professionals Appreciation Week, to recognize local water, wastewater and stormwater workers.
Who's being thanked: WES lists the roles it takes to keep its system running day and night, including wastewater plant operators, field technicians, maintenance and electrical trades workers, laboratory analysts, chemists and water quality specialists, civil engineers, IT staff, environmental and regulatory specialists, and administrative and management staff.
The quiet part: as WES puts it, every time you turn on the tap or flush, clean water shows up and waste disappears without you having to think about it. These are the people who think about it so you don't have to, which is a generous arrangement, considering what goes down some drains.
Careers: WES says the week is also meant to inspire young Oregonians to consider careers in public water and wastewater work. Current openings and information are on the Working at WES page: https://www.clackamas.us/wes/careers.html
About WES: Clackamas Water Environment Services provides wastewater service, stormwater management and environmental education, and recovers renewable resources. Its main site is https://www.clackamas.us/wes
Sources: Clackamas County news release, "Honoring the People Who Keep Our Water Flowing: Oregon's First Water Professionals Appreciation Week, October 3 to October 11," Sept. 30, 2026: https://www.clackamas.us/news/2026-09-30/honoring-the-people-who-keep-our-water-flowing-oregons-first-water-professionals-appreciation-week-october-3-to-october-11 , and Oregon Legislature, HB 4005 (2026 regular session): https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/liz/2026R1/Measures/Overview/HB4005
Photo: Aeration basins at the City of Gresham Wastewater Treatment Plant in neighboring Multnomah County, 2025, by PortlandAppraisalBlog, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons. It illustrates the kind of plant water professionals run; it is not a WES facility.
Source: the public notice on this register NN-PUBDESK-20261005-CLACKOR-05 · Clackamas County / Clackamas Water Environment Services · News release: Oregon's First Water Professionals Appreciation Week, Oct. 3–11 · Sept. 30, 2026.
This is a Notice Nearby local brief — an in-house explainer written from a government-posted notice on this register. It is not official minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication.