In June 2026, the Dufur City Council changed the order of the steps for buying a utility connection. Until then, a city policy blocked water and sewer connections unless a building permit had been issued or was in process. Under the amended policy, adopted as a resolution recorded in the council's June 9, 2026 minutes, a property owner can pay the system development charges and any connection fees, sign up for monthly service and get connected with no building permit application on file. Sewer facilities still can't be used until a building permit is in hand.
For anyone looking at an in-town lot, that means you can now buy the water tap first and build later. It also means you're buying into a water system that the city has spent the past year watching closely. Dufur has paid off its sewer problem. Water is now the limit, and if you're comparing Dufur with The Dalles or another Wasco County town, that's what to weigh.
What changed at City Hall in June
The council took this up in May, when it reviewed the policy attached to Ordinances 303 and 307. In that discussion, recorded in the May 12, 2026 minutes, the council described the process as dated for owners who want water and sewer at a property before they have building plans. The minutes cite a $10,000 SDC, and the council explained that SDC money doesn't go into the general fund. It goes into reserves for system upgrades that offset the impact of new connections.
The sewer limit was deliberate. Council members said they were fine with an owner having water to maintain a property, but they worried that sewer service with nobody living there could open the door to someone living in an RV on the lot, which the minutes describe as a violation of city ordinance. That's why the final resolution lets the water meter turn on early and keeps sewer use tied to a building permit.
In practice, a lot that already has a paid connection and an active meter is a different purchase from a lot that still needs one. The price difference includes the SDC, the connection charges and the staff time to run service to the property line. The buyer or the seller pays those costs, and the listing should make clear which one.
Why sewer is off the table
For years, wastewater was the system Dufur had to plan around. That work is now done. The city's October 2025 newsletter described two new treatment cells, a holding pond, a chlorination building, land for a second irrigation pivot, and a goal of ending winter discharge into Fifteenmile Creek. Contractor R&G built it, with Anderson Perry as engineer.
The financing has settled too. Interim DEQ financing was moved to USDA. In January 2026 the city authorized a USDA Rural Utilities Service sewer revenue bond of up to $2.442 million at 1.375% interest. At the May 2026 meeting, the city reported its final payment to R&G and said the EPA loan and grant were closed. In June, Anderson Perry raised shredding the city's 2007 order with DEQ, since the city was in compliance and the wastewater project was finished. The mayor reported that the smell at the sewer pond was gone after a second aerator went in.
So for a buyer, sewer capacity isn't the concern it would have been a few years ago. The question has moved to water.
The water margin, in pump hours
In October 2025, Public Works told the council that the State Water Master had inspected the city wells and found the aquifer down a few feet. Well 1's static pressure had dropped from 10 psi to 8 psi. Well 2 is run four hours every seven days for maintenance, and it was running out of water after about an hour. Public Works cut its output from 50 to 35 gallons per minute and called that "barely sufficient." Staff also reported that new drilling for another well wasn't permitted, though a variance might be possible if it were used only as backup and the city didn't increase its water use.
The spring brought a mild winter and low snowpack. In April the council discussed the city's usual voluntary odd-even watering, the late start of the school football field's sprinklers and the splash pad's 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. schedule. It asked the city attorney to draft a curtailment ordinance if the city didn't already have one. That became Ordinance 353, adopted in June 2026, and its text is in the June 2026 council packet. It sets four water-shortage levels, from voluntary reductions at the first level to mandatory cuts at the fourth.
| Level | City system: pump runs more than | South Basin: daily use above |
|---|---|---|
| First | 12.5 hours in 24 | 35,000 gallons |
| Second | 13 hours in 24 | 36,500 gallons |
| Third | 14 hours in 24 | 38,000 gallons |
| Fourth | 15 hours in 24 | 40,000 gallons |
When the council discussed the thresholds, it put last August's peak at about 12 hours of pumping in a day. On a hot August day, the city system already runs within about half an hour of the voluntary level. The council said the numbers can be adjusted later. The structure tells you how much room the system has, and every new meter that turns on adds to the hours the pump runs.
There was some good news this summer. In July 2026, Public Works reported that Well 2's water level was "actually up, ahead of last year," and staff wanted to run a no-cost probe test in the park well to keep tabs on the aquifer. One better year is welcome, but the longer pattern is a declining aquifer.
The aquifer under the whole basin
This isn't only a city wellfield problem. Columbia Gorge News reported on a presentation in which District 3 Watermaster Robert Wood said, "We've been noting groundwater declines throughout Fifteenmile basin for a number of years." The same report quoted him on Dufur directly: "They have some artesian wells in town, and in those the pressure has been dropping off as well."
The article noted that the Fifteenmile and Eightmile area hadn't been declared a critical groundwater area. It also said OWRD and the U.S. Geological Survey were studying whether the decline comes from pumping, from older wells that let water drain between aquifers, or both. For an in-town buyer, the practical point is that the town's wells sit inside a basin the state is actively studying for groundwater decline.
The state drinking water inventory lists Well 1 and Well 2 as active sources for the City of Dufur system. A separate inventory lists Well 3 as the active source for the South Basin system. South Basin has its own maintenance list. In September, Public Works reported the South Basin chlorinator acting up and said a system walk-around had found deficiencies, including a reservoir outflow running south toward Fifteenmile Creek that needs to be re-angled.
Where the water money sits
The fix has been planned for a while. In May 2025, Anderson Perry put the full water and sewer master-plan recommendations at roughly $5 to $6.5 million, up from a 2017 estimate of just over $3 million, and its well specialist had scouted sites near the FFA barn. That August, the Port of The Dalles listed Dufur's community enhancement project as drinking water system improvements, with a new well and a new reservoir as the two main pieces.
In January 2026, ahead of the legislative session, city staff met with Greg Smith and said they planned to stress Dufur's need for $6 million in water projects to support housing. That $6 million is a request, not an award.
The city's adopted 2026–27 budget shows what's actually on the books this year. The Water Fund has no loan or grant revenue and no water-system capital outlay, and it sets aside $13,500 for a rate study. South Basin gets $10,000 for a chlorination system, and the Water Improvement Fund holds $220,000 reserved for future spending. The city also brought on Eric Klann of Divergent Engineering for $450 a month to handle DRC work and interim engineering questions. When he introduced himself to the council in September, the topics on his list included water rates and SDCs.
That matters when you budget for a house here. The city's water and sewer page currently lists an inside-city base bill of $121.80 a month: a $38.80 water base rate covering up to 10,000 gallons, a $63.00 sewer fee, $5.00 for the street paving fund, a $5.00 capital improvements fee and a $10.00 DEQ sewer assessment. Outside city limits, the posted base bill is $70.89. Usage above 10,000 gallons is billed in tiers, from $0.10 to $0.25 per 100 gallons. With a rate study funded and an engineer advising on rates and SDCs, budget for the $121.80 posted today without assuming it stays put.
Before you write an offer on an in-town lot
- Ask the City of Dufur whether the lot already has a water meter, whether SDCs have been paid, and in whose name.
- Get today's SDC and connection fee amounts in writing from City Hall. The $10,000 figure came up in council discussion and could change with the rate and SDC work.
- Confirm whether the lot is served by the city system or by South Basin, since they run on separate wells and Ordinance 353 sets separate triggers for each.
- Ask City Hall how the June 2026 resolution applies to your lot and your build timeline, since sewer use waits for a building permit.
- If you're planning landscaping or a garden, read Ordinance 353 to see what each curtailment level would ask of you in late summer.
Quick answers
Can I connect city water to an empty lot in Dufur? The June 2026 resolution, as recorded in the council minutes, allows a connection once the owner pays all SDCs and connection fees and enrolls in monthly service, with the monthly water rate starting once connected. Confirm the details for a specific lot with City Hall.
Can I park an RV on the lot and use the sewer? Under the resolution, sewer facilities can't be used before a building permit is obtained. In the April 2026 minutes, the council described someone living in an RV on a lot as a violation of city ordinance, so ask City Hall which ordinance applies.
Does Dufur have a new well coming? A new well and a new reservoir were listed as the two main pieces of the city's drinking water project in an August 2025 Port of The Dalles packet. In January 2026 the city said it would seek $6 million for water projects. The 2026–27 budget includes no water-system construction.
This post is general information about city rules and fees, not legal or financial advice. Before you act on a connection or an SDC, check your own parcel with the City of Dufur and the right professional.
If you're weighing a Dufur lot, I'd start with its meter status and the city's water picture before getting to the price. Reach out to Tiffany Hillman and we'll put together the questions for City Hall before you make an offer.
