Portlanders protest covering of reservoirs

PORTLAND, Ore. — Activists concerned about water purity and water rates occupied Mount Tabor Park late Friday to protest the city of Portland’s decision to follow a federal mandate to cover open reservoirs.

The demonstration started at 5 p.m. and it was unclear how long it would last. The park closes at midnight, and police could be called in if the protest is not over. Organizers have talked about establishing a round-the-clock protest — like Occupy Portland — but have also discussed leaving before midnight and returning when the park reopens.

“We definitely don’t want anybody hurt, but this is pretty important” said Jessie Sponberg, an organizer. “It’s important that we hold our ground, but it’s also important that we have longevity. It would be a shame to have everybody here get beat up while the news is on the weekend cycle.”

Mayor Charlie Hales, in a statement, asked demonstrators to keep the protest peaceful and follow park rules.

Police arrested a 66-year-old protester who was accused of trespassing when he allegedly refused to leave after violating park rules. But the demonstration otherwise got off to a laid-back start, with several dozen people on the grass in front of one of the reservoirs — an empty one. Drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who waived Cascadia flags and held pro-reservoir signs.

The roots of the dispute date to the Bush administration, when the Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule to prevent contamination by cryptosporidium, a parasite that killed more than 100 people in Milwaukee in 1993 and sickened thousands more.

Portland officials spent years seeking delays from the order, contending the requirement to cover open reservoirs is expensive and unnecessary. But the recently elected Hales and three city commissioners threw in the towel last month after a request for more time was denied.

Demonstrators, however, say the city’s effort has been half-hearted. They want city leaders to ask Oregon’s congressional delegation for help pursuing a waiver or extension.

“We’ve not exhausted all legal options,” said Floy Jones of the group Friends of the Reservoir. “Portland has never made a serious attempt to address this onerous regulation, unlike Rochester, N.Y. (which got an extension).”

City Commissioner Nick Fish, who is charge of the water bureau, said he recently discussed the matter with the congressional delegation and he is convinced that Portland is out of options.

“No large water system in the country is exempt from this rule, and despite our best efforts, an exception for Portland is not possible,” he wrote on his website.

Portland has five open drinking water reservoirs, three at Mount Tabor in southeast Portland and two at Washington Park on the city’s west side.

Plans call for the Mount Tabor reservoirs, built more than 100 years ago, to be disconnected when new underground reservoirs at Kelly and Powell buttes are completed. At Washington Park, one reservoir will be decommissioned and the other renovated and covered.

Supporters of open reservoirs say it’s foolish to mess with Portland’s excellent drinking water, and charging higher rates to do so.

“Bottom line is our system isn’t broken, so why would want to spend hundreds of millions of dollars fixing it,” Jones said. “This regulation was all based on a sewage event in Milwaukee that had nothing to do with open reservoirs.”

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

The rezoned property, seen here from the Hillside Vista luxury development, is surrounded on two sides by modern neighborhoods Monday, March 25, 2024, in Lake Stevens, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Despite petition, Lake Stevens OKs rezone for new 96-home development

The change faced resistance from some residents, who worried about the effects of more density in the neighborhood.

Rep. Suzan DelBene, left, introduces Xichitl Torres Small, center, Undersecretary for Rural Development with the U.S. Department of Agriculture during a talk at Thomas Family Farms on Monday, April 3, 2023, in Snohomish, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Under new federal program, Washingtonians can file taxes for free

At a press conference Wednesday, U.S. Rep. Suzan DelBene called the Direct File program safe, easy and secure.

Former Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy Jeremie Zeller appears in court for sentencing on multiple counts of misdemeanor theft Wednesday, March 27, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Ex-sheriff’s deputy sentenced to 1 week of jail time for hardware theft

Jeremie Zeller, 47, stole merchandise from Home Depot in south Everett, where he worked overtime as a security guard.

Everett
11 months later, Lake Stevens man charged in fatal Casino Road shooting

Malik Fulson is accused of shooting Joseph Haderlie to death in the parking lot at the Crystal Springs Apartments last April.

T.J. Peters testifies during the murder trial of Alan Dean at the Snohomish County Courthouse on Tuesday, March 26, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Bothell cold case trial now in jury’s hands

In court this week, the ex-boyfriend of Melissa Lee denied any role in her death. The defendant, Alan Dean, didn’t testify.

A speed camera facing west along 220th Street Southwest on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 in Edmonds, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Washington law will allow traffic cams on more city, county roads

The move, led by a Snohomish County Democrat, comes as roadway deaths in the state have hit historic highs.

Mrs. Hildenbrand runs through a spelling exercise with her first grade class on the classroom’s Boxlight interactive display board funded by a pervious tech levy on Tuesday, March 19, 2024 in Marysville, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Lakewood School District’s new levy pitch: This time, it won’t raise taxes

After two levies failed, the district went back to the drawing board, with one levy that would increase taxes and another that would not.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.