Portland, Oregon flushes water reservoir after man urinates in it
By Teresa Carson11 hours ago
By Teresa Carson
PORTLAND, Oregon (Reuters) - Portland, Oregon is flushing 38 million gallons (143 million liters) of drinking water down the drain because a 19-year-old man urinated in an open reservoir early on Wednesday morning, city water officials said.
Three teens were observed at the reservoir in a Portland park at about 1:00 a.m. Wednesday, Portland Water Bureau spokesman David Shaff said, and one of them was filmed urinating through an iron fence into the water.
The other two tried to climb the fence and one got into the secure area around the reservoir, but Shaff said it is not clear what he did then.
The 50-million-gallon (189-million-liter) reservoir was taken off line and was tested for possible contamination and the results will be known Thursday. But in the meantime, the city has decided to "discard" 38 million gallons of water and clean the reservoir, Shaff said.
"That water goes directly into people's homes," David Shaff, Portland Water Bureau administrator said. "There is no way to re-treat it."
The three teens were cited for trespassing and one for public urination. Additional charges could be filed as the investigation continues.
"We are not in the arid Southwest," Shaff said, "We have hundreds of millions of gallons available, so that makes it an easy call for me" to discard the water. He estimated the cost of cleaning and replacing the water at several thousand dollars.
The Federal government has mandated that Portland and all other cities cover their water reservoirs, Shaff said, and this group of Portland reservoirs will be finished by December 2015.
Shaff has not seen the police report and could not comment on motive but said alcohol may have been involved.
(Editing by Dan Whitcomb and Eric Walsh)
Horse 1 hour ago034Ok this has got to be one of the most idiotic ignorant things I have read in a long time. I cannot believe the people in charge at the water department would do something so flipping stupid!! What about the birds that land in the reservoir and poop in it? What about the animals upstream and urinate in and around the stream? For crying out loud, drain a reservoir because one careless individual peed in it? Who's in charge of the water department out there, Homer Simpson?Expand Replies (3) Reply
Steve 28 minutes ago08What a moronic solution to a minor problem. Do thise idiots not think that animals pee and poop in an open reservoir? What about runoff from surrounding areas? Birds overflying it and "letting go"? Human urine is sterile when it leaves the body and although it's not pleasant to tink that a human or an animal might have contaminated a reservoir with urine, contamination goes on every day. One last point, the amount of urine put in the reservoir by the dummy that urinated in it amounts to a martini made with a shot glass of Vermouth in a Railcar of GIn. Not much of a martini.Reply
