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City Council agrees on process for paying claims after NE Portland water main break


Portland Water Bureau crews work to repair a main break that flooded Northeast Portland's Alberta neighborhood on Saturday, March 16. (KATU photo taken March 17 by Tristan Fortsch)
Portland Water Bureau crews work to repair a main break that flooded Northeast Portland's Alberta neighborhood on Saturday, March 16. (KATU photo taken March 17 by Tristan Fortsch)
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PORTLAND, Ore. – City councilors have agreed to help people with “legitimate claims” after a water main broke in a Northeast Portland neighborhood back in March, causing extensive flooding in the surrounding blocks.

Officials said they still aren’t sure what caused the break on Northeast Skidmore Street, adding that the century-old pipe had a lifespan of roughly 200 years.

“The Water Bureau has robust asset management and predictive maintenance programs to maintain and improve our system,” said Water Bureau Director Mike Stuhr. “This was a very rare and isolated incident.”

The Portland City Council voted last week on a process for paying claims related to the water main break. The deadline to file a claim is July 15.

People can send the claims to:

Portland City Attorney’s Office
1221 SW 4th Ave., Rm. 430
Portland, OR 97204

Officials said people who have already filed no not need to resubmit a claim.

More from the city:

"There was no negligence in this case and Risk Management determined that the City is not legally liable for damages. Mayor Wheeler and I quickly agreed, however, that the City has a moral responsibility to compensate community members who were harmed through no fault of their own under these rare and unique circumstances," said Commissioner Amanda Fritz, who is assigned to the Portland Water Bureau. "This process, led by the Portland City Attorney's Office, will expedite the claims process and allow those impacted by the water to receive compensation without a need for costly and time-intensive litigation."

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