Most people know the Willamette River has serious problems. One of the local water authorities in Washington County(TVWD: Tualatin Valley Water District) is looking to get its water from Willamette. A few local water authorities have already started to go along with drinking Willamette River water. This is the next in a series of moves by local governments to move away from cleaner sources of water Hagg Lake, Bull Run, etc.. and move to the polluted Willamette River.
Would you let your family drink Willamette River water? Do you think it can ever be safe? While I don't know the answer to the first question, I do know the answer to the 2nd question is definitely not.
And here is why:
- There are at least 48 different pesticides, heavy metals and petroleum by products in the river.
- Studies have found PCBs, DDT, and Dioxin in the water.
- Water Quality standards local authorities have to follow are under debate -- Remember the Bush Administration lowered the bar on cancer causing Arsenic contamination right after being installed in office?
- Regulated limits are set for a healthy 155 lb male in good health. Not 30lb children, or those not in good health.
- Due to varying river levels, pollution may be more concentrated different times of the year.
- There are 11 Major upstream sewage treatment plants upstream from the intake point TVWD wants to use.
- Moving to the Willamette River would require pumping water uphill about 22-miles versus a gravity feed system they currently have.
- Extensive testing and filtering would be required because the Willamette is polluted with not just things we know about, but many things we don't know about.
- The Willamette River is subject to run off from Urban human activities, forest lands, and farming.
Whats the skinny on Bull Run?
- Federally protected since 1892 -- offlimits to humans, chemicals, farming, industrial, and sewage runoff.
- One of the cleanest sources of water around - the purity of the water is nationally recognized, and only requires chlorination, no pesky pollutants to remove.
- Water reaches all of us by gravity feed, there is no need to pump the water making it more sustainable and less vulnerable to being unavailable when we need it.
- Infrastructure for the water has been in place for many years, for TVWD, the pipeline is completely paid for. We just have to pay for water now.
- Much more water is available for our growing population with the construction of a 3rd Dam.
So how do you feel about drinking Willamette River water? Lets talk about it. Do you think its a good idea to drink from our most famously polluted river?
If you want to get involved visit www.tvwd.org and attend a meeting. Democracy is from the ground up, so stay informed and give your input.
Willamette River water? Yuck!
Thanks Adam for being such a strong and educated advocate for clean drinking water.
Getting water from the Willamette for theTVWD is almost too much to fathom: the costs and logistics of collecting, purifying and delivering nasty toxic water 22+ miles from a souce on the Willamette, pumping it uphill, it's just nuts. And when we have an existing source at Bull Run that is transported via gravity (free!) thru paid-for pipelines (almost free, just maintenance costs) without the need for aggressive purification and filtration? Who would advocate the Willamette option? Really, who? There is a ton of money to be made to some lucky construction company that would install this colossal, complex scheme, and then we get an inferior product that costs tons more?
What was the upside of this idea?
You don't need an advanced degree in hydrology (or even an AA) to see there is more to this than meets the eye.
Add in the looming spectre of M49 not passing and a potentially HUGE increase in demand for water in the district, and this will be a cluster of near-biblical proportions.
I can see the bond measure protests now.
I already have my Safe Water petitions, and I encourage all readers to contact Citizens for Safe Water today and get on the petition program, and as you mentioned contact and attend TVWD to get more info and fight for clean water from Bull Run.
I'll close with this thought: I'll consider DRINKING water from the Willamette when the advocates for this all agree to SWIM ACROSS the Willamette.
Glen Geller
PCP354, HDL28
HD28-1@washcodems.org
TVWD initative Petition has started!
Folks! We're got a petition circulating to keep the dangerous Willamette River water out of your homes. I recently was a guest on TVCTV's Waterspot series to talk about the issue and why you would never want to drink the river water.
Here is the Video
-Adam Gretzinger
TVWD Board Debate continues - Board Meeting Video
This is a video of the August 15, 2007 Tualatin Valley Water District{TVWD} Board meeting. Two public comments were taken during the meeting about the Willamette River.