Ballots due August 22 for a special election in Gold Hill that will impact the Rogue River

Written by Frances Oyung on August 15, 2023

For voters registered in the small town of Gold Hill, ballots for a special election are due on August 22. This special election is to determine if the city of Gold Hill will be annexed into the Rogue Valley Sewer Services district (RVSS). The vote will decide whether Gold Hill or RVSS will own and operate the municipal sewer infrastructure including the wastewater treatment facility and collections system in Gold Hill.  Rogue Valley Sewer Services (RVSS) is a “special district” whose sole purpose is to operate and manage sanitary sewer and storm drain systems in the region. Special districts are a unique type of jurisdiction in Oregon that requires a vote to form or join a district. Other “special districts” you may be familiar with are library districts or the Soil & Water Conservation District.

Rogue River in Gold Hill. Photo: Caitlin Eastman

Gold Hill is presently the legal owner of the city’s wastewater treatment facility, which discharges treated wastewater into the Rogue River. In years past, under City operation, there were several Clean Water Act permit violations due to the challenges the City had in operating the facility and in 2012 the Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality issued a Mutual Agreement and Order (MAO) requiring the City to complete system improvements to repair or replace the existing treatment plant. In 2017, after the City had ongoing difficulties operating the treatment plant, the City contracted with RVSS to operate the treatment plant. After over five years of operating under contract, RVSS and the City are now asking residents to vote to decide if they will become part of the RVSS district or keep the sewer infrastructure under City ownership, but without RVSS as an operator. 

If the ballot measure passes, RVSS will continue to operate the sewer collection system and treatment plant but will have the authority to operate the system using the resources available to the district and the ultimate goal would be to send Gold Hill's wastewater through an RVSS pipeline to the Regional Water Reclamation Facility which is operated by the City of Medford and treats wastewater for much of Jackson County. There are many challenges to funding and operating the infrastructure of a small town, and the expertise required to safely and effectively operate a wastewater treatment plant is not an inexpensive or simple task. RVSS has many years of specialized expertise operating facilities such as these and RVSS is in a position to more easily support the requirements of effective wastewater treatment. Under both ballot options sewer rates will go up to meet required water quality standards. Hopefully we can all agree that treating wastewater to a high standard prior to discharge into the river is a valuable benefit to all of us. The utilization of a special district helps spread out the costs to effectively and efficiently operate wastewater infrastructure. Rogue Riverkeeper encourages all Gold Hill voters to carefully consider their vote and the importance of safe and efficient sewer infrastructure and its impact on the Rogue River.

For more information, see the Voters Pamphlet at the Jackson County Clerk’s website or Rogue Valley Sewer Services’s website here.