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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 15, 2014)
Street roots Aug. 15, 2014 3 •TTT BY EMILY GREEN STAFF W RITER fish. “We do not have enough data on beaches within the downtown stretch to know whether walking barefoot poses a health . hazard. We do know that within the Portland Harbor, two beaches were identified as posing health concerns: former Gasco Beach (a public health hazard due to polyaromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs), and Willamette Cove (an area of public health concern due to lead and dioxins). “The downtown stretch of the Willamette River is a working marine port with motorized boat traffic. We caution to stay out of boat traffic areas when swimming.” ince the completion of the Big Pipe project in 2011, which stopped Portland’s sewage from spilling into the Willamette River during rainstorms, there’s been a movement led by Human Access Project to change the public’s perception about swimming in the river. Events promoted by the nonprofit, like the annual Big Float and the opening of Poet’s Beach in downtown Portland, are intended to encourage the public to swim and play in the often-snubbed waterway. ■ But is it really safe? Although E. coli counts are down, some areas are still highly contaminated. More than 100 years of industrial activity along the river has taken its toll — especially along the stretch of rivet between the Broadway Bridge and the Columbia Slough where the presence of PCBs, dioxins, heavy metals, pesticides and other toxic chemicals are known to lie in the sediment In 2000 the EPA added the site to its National Priorities List and is expected to issue a final decision in 2017 about how it will be cleaned and who will have to pay for it. To get to the bottom of whether or not it truly is safe to swim in the Portland Harbor, Street Roots asked several local experts the same question: Is it safe to swim in the stretch of | | Willamette River that runs through Portland and to walk barefoot on the beaches alongside it? S Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group “Generally I feel it is safe to swim in the Willamette River, and to walk barefoot on some beaches,” says Jim Robison with the Portland Harbor Community Advisory Group, “I would not walk barefoot along the beach at Willamette Cover, or the Swan Island Lagoon. I would not w ant to swim in the Swan Island Lagoon, or n e ar th e sites of Gasco and Arkema (west side of the river just down stream and just upstream from the railroad bridge). One other area of the river where I would avoid swimming or walking the beach barefoot (not that there is a beach) would be at River Mile 11, essentially the east side of the river from just north of the Fremont Bridge to just north of the Broadway bridge. Oregon Environmental Council “Yes, it is safe to swim in the Willamette. The reason it is now safe to swim in is because the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services completed the ‘Big Pipe,”’ says Teresa Huntsinger. “Green stormwater facilities (the planted swales you see alongside streets) also play a huge part in making sure the system doesn’t overflow. Yay! You can swim in the river without being exposed to fecal bacteria that can make you sick. “Having said that, we still have a lot of work to do before the Willamette is clean and safe for the fish and wildlife that live in it. There are still toxic chemicals in the river that come from streets and cars^industrial plants, pesticides from farms and yards, and pharmaceuticals and other chemicals that make their way through wastewater treatment plants. These chemicals are at very low concentrations, so you would have to spend a lot of time in the water to be exposed to enough to cause harm. But the fish and other aquatic (fritters that spend their whole lives in the river are exposed to much more. “Lastly, be aware that the Portland Harbor Superfund Site is on the northern, industrial end of the city. Even though most of the Contamination is in the fish and sediment, why press your luck by swimming right in a Superfund site? Just to be on the safe side, Td do my swimming and barefoot beach walking upstream of the Broadway Bridge; downtown Portland is fine.” Portland Fire and Rescue “‘Safe’ is so hard to define when it comes , .< < • Safe .■? STR EET R O O T S P H O T O to swim? With the renewed attention on swimming in the Willamette River, we asked the experts how safe it really is to go back into those m urky waters to river safety,” says Ron Ruse with Portland Fire and Rescue. “All swimmers need to be aware of their skills and limitations. And even though the temperature averages 70 degrees this time of year, it drops to 50 fairly quickly at night Portland Fire and Rescue recommends that all swimmers know about the dangers of hypothermia and how to deal with it. Also, be aware of early signs of symptoms of heat exhaustion and dehydration in hot weather. And always wear a personal flotation device when in or around the river. “You can reduce the threat of injury by wearing proper/protective footwear when on the beach. And don’t forget to carry a first aid kit of some kind when on the beach.” Environmental Protection Agency “EPA has determihed that the greatest health risk from exposure to contamination in Portland Harbor is from eating resident fish and to infants that are breast-fed by mothers who eat resident fish on a regular basis,” says Alanna Conley with the EPA. “There are many chemical contaminants “ifi the sediments, fish and shellfish at Portland Harbor, including PCBs and pesticides. Some of these chemicals don’t break down and persist in the river sediments (mud). People may be exposed to these contaminants found in and along the river shoreline in various ways such as: recreational activities or working on the docks or shore, eating resident fish caught from the river (fish that spend their lifecycles in the harbor: i.e., catfish, bass and carp), or indirectly exposed through consuming breast milk from mothers who may have been exposed to contaminants from Portland Harbor.” < “From a water quality perspective it is safe to swim and recreate in the Willamette River in Portland most times of the year,” says DEQ’s Tom Gainer. “DEQ, the city of Portland and others monitor the Willamette River year-round for E. coli bacteria, an indicator qf fecal contamination. Exposure to bacteria is the greatest health concern for people swimming or recreating in the river. Monitoring data from the past decade and from the City of Portland shows that bacteria rarely reach unhealthy levels in Portland. While water quality is safe for swimming, people should be aware of potential physical hazards on beaches and in shallow water, such as debris from historical activities, and understand the inherent risks with swimming in an urban waterway. “The EPA’s Portland Harbor Superfund project generally concluded that beaches in Portland Harbor are safe for recreational use, although DEQ and the Oregon Health Authority have noted that several specific areas should be avoided for frequent, long term exposure due to localized contam ination, such a s th e W illam ette Cove, G asco , a n d R iv er M ile 13.1 b e a c h e s . R iv er Mile 434*is located downtown (outside th e Portland H arbor Superfund study area, conducted as a DEQ-lead investigation and clean up) just upstream of the east side of the Hawthorne Bridge (by the floating dock).” 4 City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services Willamette Riverkeepers “Yes, it is safe to swim in this stretch of “In general it is safe to swim and recreate the Willamette River,” says the bureau’s in and on the Willamette River, with the Kim Cox. “In December 2011, rare exception these days of a combined Environmental Services completed a 20-year sewer overflow in the Portland area,” says program to control combined sewer Travis Williams with Willamette overflows (CSOs) and today the Willamette Riverkeepers. “The bigger issue is with the River is cleaner than ever. From May to potentially chronic October, city staff health impacts from, cbllect weekly consumption of some samples at five river "There are still toxic species of fish from recreational areas to the river. There are track E. coli bacteria chemicals In the river that levels of both mercury come from streets and cars, and temperature at public access points. and PCBs in some fish industrial plants, pesticides tissues that can Water quality from farms and yards, and monitoring for impact people.” bacteria conducted by pharmaceuticals and other the City of Portland chemicals that mahe their Oregon Public and Oregon Health Division way through wastewater Department of “The Willamette Environmental treatment plants. These River is not a Quality show that chemicals are at w r y low. regulated swimming bacteria levels are'not concentrations, so yon would a threat to human site, so there may be haw . to spend a lot of time in health. Even though bacteria and disease- causing germs that Willamette River the water to he exposed can occur in any bacteria levels are enough to canse harm ." outdoor water body,” low during dry says Jonathan Modie. weather, it’s never (See the City of safe to use water Portland’s website for directly from urban rivers and streams as a results of monitoring the river for E. coli.) source of drinking water, because that water “From the analysis that OHA has has not been treated to meet protective conducted within the Portland Harbor, drinking water standards. chemical exposure in the river water is not “In general, walking barefoot may not be the best idea because of potential physical a health concern. The contaminants hazards froin stepping on debris. To date, associated with the Superfund site the Oregon Health Authority, with two concentrate in the sediment at the bottom exceptions, has indicated that using the of the river and bioaccumulate in fish, not H beaches in the Portland Harbor Superfund the water itself. Contaminant levels in fish Site does not pose a threat The two tissue can be 3.5 million times higher than exceptions are the Gasco site and the east what is in thè water. This is why there is a parcel of Willamette Cove.” fish advisory in place for resident harbor
