What The Water Bureau's "Water House" Would Look Like

Last week, Commissioner Randy Leonard's plan for a "water house" built by the Portland Water Bureau got its first nod of approval from his colleagues on City Council.

Thanks to that council decision to accept donated supplies to build the house, residents in outer Northeast Portland will soon have an eco-friendly home in their neighborhood. The pictures above and below are what this house would look like as well as its floor plan.

The idea is to make the home a model of sustainable design, keep it open for a year and then sell the surplus city property, which the Water Bureau inherited from another water district, according to city officials.

Just last week, Portland's volunteer Public Utility Review Board expressed reservations about the practice of using city utilities to pay for services that don't directly benefit ratepayers.