Parkdale Water submitted this photo of work the utility undertook to address a leak on Baseline.
Photo courtesy Parkdale Water Company
PARKDALE — The Public Utility Commission of Oregon (PUC) opened an investigation into Parkdale Water Company on July 7 following a public hearing.
Hood River County Administrator Allison Williams said in her July 20 county commissioners report that County Public Works Director Cori Wiessner contacted PUC in May regarding road damage.
According to the PUC staff report (Docket No. UM 2457) dated June 29, the county reported a leak to Parkdale Water in December 2025 “because the leak was causing damage to a roadway. Staff later learned that Parkdale identified the leak in October 2025.”
No maintenance was started until February, but Parkdale Water only “attempted to make temporary repairs.” When Wiessner filed the complaint in May, permanent repairs had still not happened.
Wiessner was not the sole person to make a complaint. A Parkdale Water customer reached out to PUC last August, reporting issues with the utility since 2024. According to the PUC report, PUC staff contacted the company via email on Nov. 6, 2025, “to request information and records related to Parkdale’s 2024 rates, metering practices, and compliance with customer billing rules.”
When no answer was received, PUC sent another request on Nov. 19, 2025.
“Following repeated attempts to contact the company, the Department of Justice issued a letter to Parkdale [Water] in December 2025 outlining the company’s obligation to respond to inquiries from Public Utility Commission staff,” said the report.
Parkdale Water submitted this photo of work the utility undertook to address a leak on Baseline.
Photo courtesy Parkdale Water Company
Parkdale Water eventually responded, but “the lack of responsiveness evident in both the company’s handling of consumer inquiries and delayed responses to PUC staff demonstrates an ongoing disregard of Parkdale Water Company’s obligation to respond to non-emergency inquiries, complaints, and service problems within one business day,” the report concluded. “This pattern has raised questions as to whether Parkdale [Water] is fulfilling its obligations as a service regulated water utility.”
Parkdale Water responds
In response to Columbia Gorge News’ request for comment on this matter, the utility sent the following statement:
“Parkdale Water Company appreciates the opportunity to share its perspective. For many years, Parkdale Water has proudly served the Parkdale community by providing reliable, high-quality drinking water that meets the Safe Drinking Water Act.
“Throughout this process, we have learned a great deal and have taken steps to improve our operations. Reported water leaks have been addressed, and we continue to evaluate our procedures to better serve our customers, including improving our response to customer questions and concerns. We have worked closely with Hood River County Public Works and ODOT to obtain the necessary permits and complete required work, and we appreciate the cooperative working relationships we have established with both agencies. We also learned that some water system parts can be difficult to obtain, so we have increased our inventory of critical replacement parts to better prepare for future repairs and minimize delays.
“We remain committed to cooperating with the Oregon Public Utility Commission and the Department of Justice while continuing to provide safe, dependable water service to our community.”
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