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About Seaside signal. (Seaside, Or.) 1905-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2018)
4A • August 31, 2018 • Seaside Signal • seasidesignal.com SignalViewpoints FROM RIVER TO TAP U PHOTOS BY R.J. MARX Headwaters of the Necani- cum, where water is diverted for Seaside’s water supply. Fish diversion at the system’s headwaters. Kevin Nagle inside the diver- sion building. sually, we don’t think about it until we lose it. Our The processor provides live measure- ments monitoring multiple aspects of the most precious resource was brought to mind after process: 1,936 gallons per minute flowed 200,000 Salem residents lost fresh water for the month of June because of a potentially toxic algae while I was there. The reservoir level stood at 186 feet the day I was there, water tem- bloom. perature at a little above 20 degrees Celsius, The bloom shut down the Salem water system or 68 degrees Fahrenheit. and led to the delivery of bottled water. It also led to a The main area of the water treatment plant statewide review of water systems. consists of what looks like a giant swimming Nearly 100 public water systems around Oregon began pool, accessible by a metal staircase to a second testing for harmful contaminants from algae blooms under level. Lights overhead illuminate a series of rules unveiled by the Oregon Health Authority on July 1, concrete pools with multiple layers of sand and said Dave Emme, Environmental Public Health Section rock. Chlorine and a small amount of fluoride Manager. are added before water is sent to a filtering tank. While the state monitors 3,000 water systems, the The filtered water must sit for Health Authority chose only 200 a certain amount of time before it or 300 that use surface water, and enters the system and much of the of those, applying parameters, nar- SEEN FROM SEASIDE rowed it down to about 100 systems chlorine “cooks off” before it is that would be potentially susceptible R.J. MARX sent to the city. The piping system to algal blooms. is comprised of 43.4 miles of water Under the new rules, Seaside and main of various materials from 2 nearly 100 water systems around inches to 2 feet in diameter. the state are required to collect samples of the raw water Layers of anthracite both air- and water-clean the flowing into their treatment facilities every other week and filters every three hours in a process called “a rinse,” continue testing through October. Nagle said, removing unwanted chemicals. Water from Seaside was named to the list because of a mid-July the rinse goes into a waste pond, not the water supply. 2009 algal bloom that led the city to send out a notice of A backwash cleans the filters once a day. “unusually high algae growth in the raw water reservoir at Peterson Point” after identifying a blue-green algae called Back to the source anabaena that could produce cyanotoxins, Emme said. Our next stop was the water intake source at the The city determined the water supply was back on track headwater diversion site at the South Fork of the Necan- the next month. Seaside already tests for coliform and any other po- icum River, where fresh water is diverted to feed into the tential contaminants. Peterson Point reservoir. If the biweekly tests turn up cyanotoxins above a In a pristine setting with a lack of development, agricul- ture or septic systems around it, certain threshold, the city will be required to conduct “It’s Mother Nature at her best,” Public Works Director weekly tests. Water providers would be required to issue Dale McDowell commented as he introduced the city’s “do not drink” advisories if toxins are detected above Source Water Protection Plan at a July City Coun- health guidelines in treated water. cil meeting. Neighboring landowners Lewis & Clark and H2O in Seaside Weyerhaeuser have “stringent rules for their own Water department utility worker Kevin Nagle intro- property,” McDowell said. “Everybody is working duced me to the system with a tour of the city’s reservoir together to protect the city.” and source. The city has owned water rights since the I rode shotgun as Nagle took me first up Underhill 1920s, providing 8.0 cubic feet of water per second Road, where you first see the pump station on the road or 5.2 million gallons per day. leading up to the Peterson Point reservoir, named for the To get there, Nagle drove to a logging road turn- nearby portion of U.S. Highway 101. off another seven or eight miles up Highway 26. One of seven pump stations, this one feeds treated water After entering a series of locked gates — squat- ters sometimes camp in the nearby woods, Nagle to residents of Highway 26. said — we arrived at the headwaters where the Up a steep side spur, the reservoir stands as a glittering water split. pond of fresh water, a picture postcard of Seaside’s infra- structure. The reservoir is cleaned by a SolarBee, basically The headwaters of the Necanicum are a lonely, beautiful a solar-powered paddle wheel that stirs the water and place, the river abundant with fall chinook, Oregon Coast discourages the creation of algae. coho, chum and winter steelhead. Further up the road, adjacent to the water treatment During spawning season, the fish are jumping. “There plant, stands an unassuming brick building with a blue are some huge things,” Nagle noted. metal roof. Along with separating leaves, sticks and Visitors enter by a double door, next to the sign reading stone before the water is piped downhill, “RESTRICTED AREA: Get permission before entering.” the small diversion house — looks a The room smells like a big swimming pool, which in bit like an Irish cottage — includes a sense it is, with big concrete a fish bypass. Debris is manually ponds holding water as it removed by water department is clarified. workers. In a computer The trip ended room, monitors back where we start- ed, at the Public present data on Works building on filters, generators, Avenue U. chlorine feeds I got out realiz- and flow trends ing I would never — “the brains of look at a glass of the system,” Nagle water the same way. said. Kevin Nagle monitors the system at Seaside’s water filtration plant. Staying safe The Health Authority says it hasn’t seen any new detections in the state. The state did issue a health advisory at nearby Cullaby Lake in late August due to a bloom of harmful algae, but Cullaby Lake is not considered source water for any water systems, Jonathan Modie of the Health Authority said. Cullaby Lake only subject to recreational advisory levels under the state’s harmful algae bloom surveil- lance program. “We’re not finding surprises, we’re not finding occurrences in other systems,” Emme added. “Part of the reason we adopted these rules was to add a level of public confidence in the safety of water people are drinking.” Inside the city’s water filtra- tion plant. Kevin Nagle at a pump station on Beerman Creek Road. The pump station provides water for residents of Highway 26. Seaside’s reservoir at Peterson Point. Holy Walkamolie! Loving the Hood to Coast run! O ne of the hashtags this year for Hood To Coast is #finishcancer. (There’s also #htc2018 and #HoodToCoast2018.) Last weekend, when the event took over some of Seaside, just as the first of the running teams were crossing the finish line, I went on Instagram to see what people were posting. “What an incredible, difficult, inspiring experience,” one partici- pant said. “My legs feel broken but my heart is so full.” She thanked her fellow Holy Walkamolies for inviting her to join them. A runner representing Timberline Lodge post- ed: “With about 20,000 participants and 43,000 on the waiting list, we feel blessed to have been invited back!” The Hood to Coast relay is 200 miles from Mount Hood to Sea- side. The winning team this year, The Toyo University Ekiden Team, competed against some 1,050 teams of 12 to finish in just seven PUBLISHER EDITOR Kari Borgen R.J. Marx VIEW FROM THE PORCH EVE MARX hours. If that’s not an athletic feat, I don’t know what is. Our pet and house-sitter, who lives on 14th Street, was messaging with me that morning how happy she and her family were to stand outside and cheer the runners on. I know a lot of people who say they hate Hood to Coast. Some of them are merchants who complain the event drives down business on what should be one of the busiest weekends of the year. I frequently hear locals referring to the runners as “entitled,” although nobody has yet properly explained to me what that means. Around 10 a.m. Saturday, after snapping some photos on the beach, I wandered along Broadway to CIRCULATION MANAGER PRODUCTION MANAGER Jeremy Feldman John D. Bruijn ADVERTISING SALES SYSTEMS MANAGER April Olsen Carl Earl CLASSIFIED SALES Danielle Fisher see what I could see. There was a line outside the door to Tsuna- mi Sandwich Co. and Beach Day Coffee. A little further up the street, tables at The Big Kahuna were all taken. I guess after you’ve just finished a race, even at 10 a.m., it’s not too soon for a bloody Mary or a margarita. A little later I got in the car to drive to the library. Roosevelt Avenue was no more congested than it is any summer Saturday. STAFF WRITER Brenna Visser CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Skyler Archibald Rebecca Herren Katherine Lacaze Eve Marx Esther Moberg Jon Rahl I’d like to change the conver- sation about Hood to Coast. Truth to tell, I’m weary of the griping and ancient grievances. I’m tired of locals saying that some runner somewhere left a “brownie” on their lawn — it’s become a Seaside urban legend.) I saw a barrage of insults on a local person’s social media page about the event that seemed clearly lacking in substance. Complaining about Hood To Coast strikes me as an ingrained habit, a habit I’d like to see changed. Why not focus on the $750,000 raised to fight cancer or the benefit to our hospital? You’re a merchant and you say the event drives your business down? Then do something to entice it. Once the race is over, there’s hours before the big party starts. And most of the hotel rooms have to be booked through Sunday. That leaves plenty of time for the runners to explore our area, dine at our restaurants, sample our recre- ational medical marijuana edibles, drink our beer. Where are the signs saying, “Welcome Hood to Coast- ers”? Some of the visitors might be thinking, “Hey, this is a pretty nice place,” and one day make their permanent home here. Changing the attitude changes the conversation. The participants feel blessed to have made the cut to even be in the race. Let’s work on feeling more blessed to welcome them. Seaside Signal Letter policy Subscriptions The Seaside Signal is published every other week by EO Media Group, 1555 N. Roosevelt, Seaside, OR 97138. 503-738-5561 seasidesignal.com Copyright 2018 © Seaside Signal. Nothing can be reprinted or copied without consent of the owners. The Seaside Signal welcomes letters to the editor. The deadline is noon Monday prior to publication. Letters must be 400 words or less and must be signed by the author and include a phone number for verification. We also request that submissions be limited to one letter per month. Send to 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive, Seaside, OR 97138, drop them off at 1555 N. Roosevelt Drive or fax to 503-738-9285, or email rmarx@seasidesignal.com Annually: $40.50 in county • $58.00 in and out of county • e-Edition: only $30.00 POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Seaside Signal, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR 97103. Postage Paid at Seaside, OR, 97138 and at additional mailing offices. Copyright 2017 © by the Seaside Signal. No portion of this newspaper may be reproduced without written permission. All rights reserved.