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East Oregonian
Saturday, July 15, 2017
Portland cleans dirty river, invites residents to swim
“There is
absolutely
still a public
perception
out there: ‘I
will not go in
that river.’”
GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Portland
is well-known as a tree-hug-
ging, outdoorsy city, but the
river that powers through its
downtown has never been
part of that green reputation.
For decades, residents
have been repulsed by the
idea of swimming in the
Willamette River because
of weekly sewage overflows
that created a bacterial stew.
Now, the recent comple-
tion of a $1.4 billion sewage
pipe has flushed those
worries — and the river once
shunned by swimmers is
enjoying a rapid renaissance.
The city has partnered
with a civic group called
the Human Access Project
to entice residents into the
Willamette this summer
with a roster of public
swimming events and a
flood of announcements that
the river, finally, is safe for
human use. The campaign is
aimed at reversing the impact
of decades of public health
warnings in an eco-savvy
city with a hard-earned green
reputation.
The push mirrors efforts
to revive ailing rivers in other
U.S. cities, from the Charles
River in Boston — where
occasional city-sanctioned
swimming started in 2013
— to the concrete-lined
Los Angeles River, where
efforts have been underway
in recent years to reverse
decades of environmental
damage along an 11-mile
stretch.
In Portland, the move-
ment has clearly found its
moment.
The river is the city’s
largest public space, but
less than 5 percent of the
city’s footprint has access to
the waterfront, said Willie
Levenson, who heads the
Human Access Project and
is working closely with Port-
land to expand swimming
options.
Beaches in other commu-
nities along the river attract
crowds, but swimmers in
downtown Portland have
nowhere to dive in despite
increasing demand.
Since the completion of
the sewage control project in
2011, swimmers have been
congregating on a floating
esplanade for bikers and
runners and sneaking onto
city docks reserved for fire
boats.
“We cannot pretend that
swimming isn’t happening
in downtown Portland
anymore. It’s a livability
issue, and Portland cares
about livability,” Levenson
said. “It’s time for our
community to stop making
jokes about our river and
start digging in and looking
to make a difference.”
The Human Access
Project has been working
for several years to generate
interest in the Willamette and
has found a willing partner in
new Mayor Ted Wheeler.
This week, a new beach
with lifeguards and safety
ropes opened on the city’s
south waterfront, within
— Diance Dulken,
Spokeswoman for
Portland’s Bureau of
Environmental Services
AP Photo/Don Ryan, File
In this May 11 file photo, a rainbow pops out under dark rain clouds over the Willamette River in downtown
Portland. For decades, residents have been repulsed by the idea of swimming in the Willamette River because of
weekly sewage overflows that created a bacterial stew. Now, the recent completion of a $1.4 billion sewage pipe
has flushed those worries — and the river once shunned by swimmers is enjoying a rapid renaissance.
AP Photo/Don Ryan
AP Photo/Don Ryan
In this Thursday photo, a group of swimmers head up-
stream in the Willamette River in downtown Portland.
In this July 6 photo, a jet-skiing couple head upstream
on the Willamette River in downtown Portland.
AP Photo/Don Ryan, File
AP Photo/Don Ryan
In this July 2015 file photo, Justine Hicks floats with
her dog, Kiana, on the Willamette River in Portland.
Curt Ellsworth puts up a sign at a section of newly
formed beach on the Willamette River in Portland.
walking distance of hipster-
friendly cafes and shops.
An inner tube river
parade planned by the
Human Access Project for
this weekend is expected
to attract several thousand
participants, and members
of a river swim group cross
the Willamette several times
a week in fluorescent green
swim caps bearing the name
River Huggers.
Wheeler,
himself
a
swimmer, laid out a multi-
point plan for increasing
access to the river earlier
this year and plans to swim
the river later this month
with 500 residents in the
inaugural “mayoral swim.”
The city hopes to open two
more beaches in coming
years, install floating docks
along the riverbank and
“We have a chance to
reshape the face of our city,”
he said. “I also believe we
have a chance to reshape our
spirit.”
Portland’s
relationship
with the Willamette River
hasn’t always been easy to
navigate.
Eagle Cap Excursion Train
place public restrooms,
picnic benches, umbrellas
and showers on site.
In a recent state-of-the-
city address, Wheeler even
spoke of one day eliminating
Interstate 5 where it snakes
along the Willamette’s east
bank to improve river access.
For decades, the river was
considered a watery highway,
and industrial pollution
severely contaminated its
waters. This winter, after a
16-year wait, federal envi-
ronmental officials released
a plan to clean a 10-mile
stretch near its confluence
with the Columbia River
in a project that will take
decades of work and billions
of dollars.
But in the heart of Port-
land, the primary problem
has been human excrement.
Residents grew accustomed
to
seeing
near-weekly
warnings
about
water
quality during the winter
rainy season, where even
one-tenth of an inch of rain
could trigger overflows.
Now, the city issues just
a handful of warnings in
winter and none during the
peak swimming months of
July and August, said Diane
Dulken, spokeswoman for
Portland’s Bureau of Envi-
ronmental Services. Testing
at sites where people are
already using the river show
the water is safe, she added.
“We are really making
a push to publicize our
weekly testing because there
is absolutely still a public
perception out there, ‘I will
not go in the river.’”
On a recent blazing after-
noon, Portland resident Alex
Johnson was ready to take
the city at its word.
The 24-year-old swim
teacher and lifeguard began
diving into the Willamette
with the River Huggers
swim group this month.
On this day, he joined 30
others as they swam from
the Hawthorne Bridge to the
Morrison Bridge — through
Portland’s bustling business
district — and back in the
70-degree water. Teenagers
lounged like harbor seals on
a nearby dock and jet skis
zipped by as the swimmers
completed the more than
half-mile journey.
“I’ve heard stories that
it’s pretty polluted. It tastes
a little funny, but it is river
water,” Johnson said. “It’s a
huge resource, and we don’t
take advantage of it — and it
feels great.”
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