"This is obscene," says Dee White, a longtime critic of the bureau. "Here we have an affordability crisis going on in Portland, and the Water Bureau is using our hard-earned money to buy their engineers a mansion for their job shack? Why can't the Water Bureau use temporary trailers at the site like every other cost-conscious outfit in the U.S. does? We're talking $800,000 in ratepayer funds for a frat house for the engineers."