Clean Water Services is the water resources management utility for the Tualatin River Watershed, just west of Portland, Oregon. The utility was born almost 50 years ago out of a water quality crisis, as the growing community was poorly served by an inefficient network of 26 wastewater plants scattered across the county. As a response in 1970, local residents voted 2:1 to create one of the nation’s first regional wastewater utilities. Today, Washington County is home to more than 600,000 people and businesses, including Nike and Intel. It’s known as “the economic engine of Oregon.” The responsibility of Clean Water Services as water stewards has grown to include stormwater, water supply and ecological uplift, as well as water resource recovery. On November 13, 2019, at the American Water Summit in Houston, Diane Taniguchi-Dennis, CEO of Clean Water Services, accepted the prestigious invitation for membership into the Leading Utilities of the World network and received a 'Golden Tap' award for utility performance, representing the achievement of the highest level of utility service.