“Clack-A-Mole” selected as tunnel boring machine name

Clackamas Water Environment Services receives 650+ submissions

After receiving more than 650 naming suggestions for a tunnel boring machine (TBM), the Board of County Commissioners has selected “Clack-A-Mole” as the winning submission. Submissions came to WES from as far as Pensacola, Florida.

Clackamas Water Environment Services (WES) will spend seven months building a ½-mile-long, nine-foot-diameter tunnel using a TBM to construct a new outfall pipeline that will transport treated water from the Tri-City Water Resource Recovery Facility in Oregon City to the Willamette River.

TBMs are typically named, and WES offered the community the opportunity to make suggestions. County commissioners – sitting as the WES Board of Directors – chose among several finalists including Chewrocka, Chuck Borris and Happy Drillmore.

Multiple submissions suggested the “Clack-A-Mole” name, which will be painted on the side of the TBM, to be showcased at WES’ tunnel drilling launch event slated for July.

“We want to thank the community for all of the great, creative names that came our way,” stated WES Director Greg Geist. “We heard from families that children were discussing names in their living rooms, along with why this project was even happening in the first place. Raising awareness of the importance of infrastructure – and what it takes to keep our rivers and waterways clean – is a tremendous win.”