Overview of Multnomah County Drainage District and the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District: We are independent public agencies that improve flood safety, respond to the threat of climate change, and to calls for racial justice, environmental protection, and improved access to nature.
The Multnomah County Drainage District (MCDD) currently reduces flood risk in greater Portland along the Columbia River and the Columbia Slough. MCDD manages four public agencies, led by elected boards, that collectively operate and maintain 27 miles of flood levees, 12 pump stations, and 45 miles of sloughs, canals, and culverts. We reduce flood risk for residential communities, thousands of businesses, the Portland International Airport, sections of I-5, I-205, and I-84, Oregon’s second largest supply of drinking water, and critical electricity and natural gas hubs.
In 2019, the Oregon Legislature established the Urban Flood Safety and Water Quality District (UFSWQD). It is the first new special district in Oregon since the creation of Metro almost thirty years ago. The UFSWQD will replace the four existing drainage districts with a single, more modern agency.