September 08, 2025

Wyden Announces More Than $6 Million for Infrastructure Upgrades in Southern Oregon

Washington D.C.—U.S. Senator Ron Wyden today announced more than $6 million in federal investments he worked with Gold Hill to secure so city residents can be connected to the regional waste water system and support upgrades to that local infrastructure.

“Having reliable water infrastructure like functioning sewer utilities is absolutely essential to keeping Oregonians safe and healthy,” Wyden said. “I’m glad the teamwork with the City of Gold Hill has produced this federal investment, and I will continue to support projects like these that provide critical services and keep costs down for Oregonians.”

This $6.2 million investment from the U.S. Department of Agriculture will support the project to abandon the City of Gold Hill’s obsolete sewer treatment plant and direct waste to the regional sewer system operated by Rogue Valley Sewer Services and the City of Medford. This switch would avert a rate increase that would have cost about $150 per household.

Carl Tappert, Manager of Rogue Valley Sewer Services, said Gold Hill has a failing wastewater treatment plant but the city is part of Rogue Valley Sewer Services, which provides sanitary sewer service to the cities of Central Point, Eagle Point, Jacksonville, Phoenix, Shady Cove, Talent, White City, parts of Medford, and certain unincorporated areas of Jackson County. Tappert explained the most practical solution is to abandon the plant and connect Gold Hill’s sewer system to the Regional Water Reclamation Facility operated by Medford.

“City residents were looking at potential monthly sewer bills in excess of $150 to pay for this project,” Tappert said, noting that connection would have cost city ratepayers $17 million with limited opportunities for grants or low-interest loans. “Thanks to the hard work of our local USDA representatives and strong support from Senator Wyden we were able to secure a USDA Rural Development grant of over $6 million. This is more than double what we were hoping for and should allow us to keep sewer rates in Gold Hill below $120 per month.”