The Southeast Examiner has been following the story of our beloved reservoirs since we published the first article, “A Last Look” back in August of 2002. From the first mention of eliminating the reservoirs, a group of concerned citizens sprang into action and formed The Friends of the Reservoirs (FOR).
Over the past several years, FOR has encouraged the City to challenge an impending rule by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); the Long Term2 (LT2) that requires all unfiltered water systems provide additional treatment to specifically address Cryptosporidium. The rule also prohibits the use of open finished drinking water reservoirs such as those in Mt. Tabor and Washington Parks. The rule went into effect January of 2006.
In an interview with David Shaff, Administrator of the Water Bureau, The Examiner asked him to clarify the City’s stand in response to the LT2 ruling, their stand in privatizing water and to understand their association with multinational companies like Montgomery Watson and Harza (MWH).
The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) was originally passed by Congress in 1974 to protect public health by regulating the nation’s public drinking water supply. Amendments to the SDWA added in 1996 required the EPA to develop rules to balance the risks between microbial pathogens and disinfection by- products (DBPs).
The LT2 Rule is the second phase of rules required by Congress. (The City of Portland’s testing detected minute quantities of Cryptosporidium in its Bull Run water source in 2002.)
In 2006, the City filed a legal challenge to the LT2 rule in the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals. The petition was denied In 2007. Then the City decided to go through an administrative variance process directly with the EPA. “No one has ever applied for a variance to EPA promulgated rules,” Shaff said. “That is why it took forever for them to draft the interim rule which came out in May 2009.” The new EPA sampling requirements are more stringent than before.
In order to obtain this variance, there are several tests that must be done to prove that the Bull Run source water is as free of Cryptosporidium as a filtered system.
“We will begin to collect the necessary data by sampling the water at various stages on its route to the consumers,” Shaff explained. This testing is very expensive, but, he said, Commissioner Randy Leonard is committed to the process to gain a variance.
In July, construction began on Powell Butte Reservoir 2 a 50 million gallon holding tank. Another is being planned for Kelly Butte in the next few years. “Powell Butte is the hub of our water supply. It is where all of Portland’s water is stored,” Shaff said. It never goes directly to the reservoir.
In addition, he said that even if we obtain the variance from the EPA and are not required to process our water further, the open reservoirs will eventually be phased out at Mt. Tabor and at Washington Parks. They will no longer serve as holding tanks for our finished water.
“It has been argued that the ultraviolet (UV) light from the sun helps eliminate microbes but, according to our studies, this is not true,” Shaff said. He said the sun can promote the growth of algae in reservoirs, which is undesirable.
When asked about the possibility of privatizing our water and combining Columbia and Willamette water with Bull Run’s, Schaff said, “We currently have a ten year lease with the City of Tualatin for water rights. They wanted to own a piece of the plant, but City Council said no.”
According to Shaff, there is no plan to ever sell our water system.
In regards to combining water with the Willamette and Columbia, he said that this idea came about as a proposal during Eric Sten’s tenure in office. He brought up the idea of regionalizing the water system which would include Gresham, Rockwood, West Slope and Tualatin. The idea was abandoned.
In regards to multinational firms whose names are linked to the Portland Water Bureau, Shaff said, “They never sought us out to make a deal. On the contrary, it is we who need them.”
For projects of this magnitude, there is no one in the PWB that is capable of designing the project let alone building it. “We need firms like CH2M Hill for their engineering design experience and massive land-moving companies like MWH to build it.”
If the variance is unsuccessful and the testing for cryptosporidium in Portland’s water does not meet the latest EPA standards, the PWB must then provide additional treatment to the city’s Bull Run source water.
In July of 2009, City Council decided they will use Ultraviolet or UV Treatment. It is the least expensive and consists of water passing under high intensity UV bulbs.
The calendar on Shaff’s desk is ticking off the days until April 1, 2014, when all water systems must comply with the LT2 regulations. In the meantime, New York, Boston, Seattle, Tacoma, San Francisco as well as Portland will try to get a variance from the EPA because of the quality of their ground water supply.
“We, Commissioner Leonard and the PWB, are committed to seeking a variance for our drinking water. Working with Federal agencies is unlike anything else. They move on their own time and in their own way,” Shaff said.
