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.