Portland stores its treated drinking water at five historic open reservoirs, including this one at Mount Tabor Park. Health officials say the open-air reservoirs are risky, but reservoir supporters say there's little proof of thatPosted on 06/17/2011 9:00:48 AM PDT by JoeProBono
PORTLAND, Ore.- The head of the Portland Water Bureau said he decided to drain 7.8 million gallons of drinking water from an Oregon reservoir after a man urinated in it.
David Shaff, administrator of the bureau, said he decided to have the water drained after security cameras recorded a 21-year-old man, Joshua Seater of Molalla, urinating Wednesday into the Mount Tabor reservoir, which supplies drinking water to much of Portland, Portland cable news network NWCN reported Thursday.
"I had a pleasant buzz and I should have known better," NWCN quoted Seater as saying. "It was a split second thing and as soon as I was done I was like, 'Oh man' and I saw the police officer show up I knew exactly what they're here for."
Dave Stone, an assistant professor of toxicology at Oregon State University, said urine is generally sterile and would not pose any risks to those who drank the contaminated water, The Oregonian reported.
"It's inappropriate behavior. But how many animals are doing that or birds?" he said. "I don't want to second-guess the city, but I can't think of anything chemically that would have me be concerned."
However, officials said they are also concerned about unidentified objects Seater and four other people were taped dropping into the open reservoir.
Officials said the cleaning process is likely to take several days, but service to residents should not be affected.
NWCN reported the water is treated prior to entering the city's reservoirs.
"The water is chlorinated, but its chlorinated before the reservoirs so the water in the reservoirs is the water that you drink," city Commissioner Randy Leonard said.
Seater could face misdemeanor charges and fines, police said.
"I wouldn't mind paying for it, but I don't have a job right now," he told NWCN. "I'm willing to do community service to clean up the place because I feel bad and feel pretty stupid."
UH. MUH. GUH.
I see stupid bureaucrats.
Why would they do that? And then to drain 7.8 million gallons? Unbelievable waste.
“We don’t swim in your toilet, so please don’t pee in our pool”
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What no “Designated Pee Section in your pool”?
My first trip into Thailand in 1959 was an experience to behold while transiting the river to Bangkok.
Beside being in the middle of the river and churning mud, on either bank were people observed: “Peeing, crapping, washing clothes, drinking, bathing, swimming, animals romping, cooling off etc etc” with the water being a sickening brackish color.
The activities going on were in no particular order but quite the scene....
Wait until he gets the bill for 7.8M gallons.
i dont even want to think about what the fish are doing in there
And yet, he's head of the Portland Water Bureau
Portland stores its treated drinking water at five historic open reservoirs, including this one at Mount Tabor Park. Health officials say the open-air reservoirs are risky, but reservoir supporters say there's little proof of thatIf the inebriate added 1 pint to the reservoir, you’re looking at a concentration of approximately 0.0021 parts per million. Hardly what a prudent person would call contaminated.
I think Mr. Schaff must have been the one less in control of his faculties. Simply insane, but good enuf for government work, I suppose.
“The solution to pollution is dilution.”
Correct. They don’t even worry about terrorists poisoning water supplies because the amount of poison required would be so large, due to dilution. A little pee would have no effect.
There are probably pounds of bird turds dropped in there every day.
WOW!!! Only a Misdemeanor for ruining 7.8 million gallons of drinking water. Our City’s water facilities have a sign on them that says that tampering with those (Water) facilities is prosecutable as a Federal offense.
This whole society seems to be run by paranoid ‘60s and ‘70s drug cases dropped into government jobs.
Urine is pretty much sterile. An extreme case of wasting money if that was the only reason why the reservoir was drained.
Better check some bank accounts on this one.
W.C. Fields
“We don’t swim in your toilet so please don’t pee in our pool.”
I think the director is working on some signs for the ducks and geese telling them not to urinate or defecate in the water.
At least that would be the solution of typical Oregon bureaucrats after months of committee meetings and wasting millions of taxpayer dollars.
Oregon is a beautiful state run by complete morons. (Washington State is too.)
Actually, they put enough chlorine in the water to cause cancer. Approximately 9% of bladder cancer cases and 15% of rectal cancer cases in the United States can be linked to drinking chlorinated water. Google "trihalomethanes drinking water".
I have spoke to lifeguards about some of this kinda stuff.
At one outdoor pool i have been to, some baby pooped in the
pool. They closed and drained the pool..OK fair enough...
But when I asked them about it , they said that there always
is a bit of fecal matter in the pool, cause everyone loses
a bit here and there...not to mention saliva/sweat/skin cells/
urine....so imagine a reservoir with birds,fish,worms, insects
pooping, peeing, oh my goodness, copulating nearby...
I just think the guy had to do it, cause otherwise he would
have to admit to all of the other stuff they let get into
it and don’t worry about....
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