Post: #1

Some kid pissed in the reservoir, so they decided to drain it. They are not having a drought so no biggie. They tested the water it was fine. Also it is open air reservoir, birds fly over it.

There is shit in all sorts of food, insect parts, etc.

Oh well...

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014...s-of-water

Quote:Though they concede it's unlikely the public was endangered, officials in Portland, Ore., have decided to drain 38 million gallons of water from a reservoir after a young man was observed urinating into it on Wednesday.

Our colleagues at Oregon Public Broadcasting note that the crime was caught on video — from a distance. "Three unidentified men," OPB writes, "were cited for trespassing after being stopped at the site early Wednesday morning. One was also cited for public urination. The Multnomah County District Attorney's Office will decide whether to pursue criminal charges."

After Portland Water Bureau officials saw what happened, they decided the water in the kidney-shaped reservoir needs to go.

According to The Oregonian, "Portland City Commissioner Nick Fish says flushing 38 million gallons of water after a man urinated in the Mt. Tabor Reservoir system is the correct call, even if it prompts complaints that the city is overreacting or wasting water."

"I didn't have a choice," Fish said, according to the newspaper. "I don't have the luxury of slicing it too thin when there's a potential risk, however small, to public health. Frankly, it's one of those calls where you know you're likely to be criticized no matter what. The professionals who report to me all said, 'Dump the water. Don't take any chances.' It's the conservative but correct call."

The open reservoirs at the facility, OPB reports, "hold water that has already been treated and goes directly into mains for distribution to customers."

This is not the first time Portland has dealt with such a problem. In 2011, a man was caught after urinating into a reservoir. He pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge of "misuse of a reservoir." The Oregonian says the guilty reliever was sentenced to 24 hours of community service at a local food pantry.

The Oregonian has also noted that:

"Strange things end up in Portland's water supply all the time, with minimal risk or impact to users. ... In 2008, a man and a woman caught skinny dipping in Mt. Tabor were sentenced to 16 hours of community service each. ...

"The federal government has ordered Portland and other cities with open-air reservoirs to cover them. City leaders are waiting on results of a May ballot measure that could shift control of the Water Bureau from the City Council to a new independently elected board to decide how to proceed."

The 2011 flushing and cleanup cost about $35,000, according to the newspaper. Officials aren't sure how much this latest incident will cost the city.

Post: #2

Fish don't piss or shit?


Edit-Wayyyyy back years ago the passenger trains coming west into Seattle/Tacoma would have their bathrooms locked after passing Hyak as they were in the watershed that supplied the drinking water to the cities. Folks up northwest have always been a bit off...

Post: #3

Unreal, I'm sure some worriers were all panicky and demanded it be drained. Cause "you know piss is oh so bad and nothing is wrong with anything put in my soda!"

These are the same types of people who complain over the most trivial stuff just to make themselves feel important.

Still why not just drop a water purifying tablet into it?

Post: #4

Food prices are expected go up and have already due to the drought. I imagine trucking water is expensive I guess.

From what I heard, no one counts on the water from Portland, other than the locals. Meaning it isn't shipped downstream somewhere. So they didn't feel bad about this idea. In California, water that could be used by farms in the central and northern parts are flowed to southern California.

Post: #5

The story never made any sense to me, the logic is mindblowing.

Post: #6

Don't birds poop in that water?
Yes, they do. Small mammals take a dip sometimes, too, and pollen blows into the water from the trees. Those natural contaminants are a key part of the Environmental Protection Agency's justification for a rule that requires all open-air reservoirs to be covered. Portland is scheduled to disconnect the open-air reservoirs on Mt. Tabor from the drinking water system by the end of 2015.

Shaff said there isn't much the bureau can do about those natural contaminants in the meantime, and that they don't pose a serious health risk.

http://www.oregonlive.com/portland/index...ee_qa.html

Post: #7

Does the water get treated some more before it enters the pipes?

I'm always curious about that. Personally I don't like the idea of drinking water from a pipe connected to an artificial water lake.

Post: #8

^^ I think it gets treated but from what I have heard Portland was against putting flouride in the water. They are very possessive about their water. Possessive isn't the right word. Maybe particular would be a better word. I am sure it is nice tasting tap water up in the northwest but still. Maybe it would have been better if they didn't make it newsworthy that some asshole of a kid did that.

Post: #9

What a waste of perfectly drinkable water.

Post: #10

THIS IS STUPID. I have had water treatment classes when I was getting my civil engineering degree and toured water treatment plants. All water is treated before being pumped out to the public, so whomever is the "genius" that is making policy decisions out there is truly, truly retarded. Full freaking retard.

Post: #11

Quote:The open reservoirs at the facility, OPB reports, "hold water that has already been treated and goes directly into mains for distribution to customers."

It was in already treated water. I'm sure it's fine as they likely use chloramines to kill bacteria (except cryptosporidium can survive that, I believe). The real "problem" is that they have treated water reservoirs that are not enclosed. They should save the $35k and buy a few tarps and a fence.

Post: #12

Imagine terrorists bringing a megalopolis to its knees by repeatedly publishing films of them pissing in its water supply? This is being treated more seriously than if someone had actually dumped a ton of deadly poison in the reservoir.

Post: #13

Complete f'ing insanity, as others have noted. Don't they know that urine is effectively sterile (no, not 100%, but pretty close)? Also, there is such an expression as "a drop in the bucket", lol.

Actually, emptying a huge water reservoir because someone pissed in the water is analogous on a small scale to destroying an economy and going back to a primitive lifestyle because it might possibly keep the earth cooler by 0.5 degrees on average. Irrational panic and cowardice writ large and small -- no surprise that some of the same people are responsible for both.

Post: #14

(04-18-2014 03:34 PM)The Lizard of Oz Wrote:  Complete f'ing insanity, as others have noted. Don't they know that urine is effectively sterile (no, not 100%, but pretty close)? Also, there is such an expression as "a drop in the bucket", lol.

Seriously, I think recall hearing people drinking their own urine for some health reasons as it was beneficial (not saying gallons here). Ahhhh Portland.

Post: #15

Or they could have sold the water to drought stricken California... I'm sure they would have cleaned the piss out of the water for them.

Post: #16

Just wait till people start talking fluoridation conspiracies.

This thread reminds me of Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

"Precious Bodily Fluids"

Post: #17

The solution to pollution is dilution.

Post: #18

The only way that this would make sense is if it were a scam, although I'm not really sure what the incentive is. Maybe the head of the reservoir has friends who will make money off an increase in the price of food/ water? I have no idea what the scam is, but I don't think there's an honest, logical explanation.

Post: #19

Oversensitive hippie hipsters too decedent to care about wasting massive amounts of water.... Boycotts shit and harps about the environment going to shit

Post: #20

Have these people ever been to London?

Post: #21

(04-18-2014 01:19 PM)spokepoker Wrote:  What a waste of perfectly drinkable water.

I don't see how this is a waste: it is not being dumped into a hole in the ground, the water is being put back into the columbia river where it will be used at a reservoir further down the line.

It rains all the time in portland so the water will get replenished, but the article says it will cost 35 thousand dollars to transfer the water.

While my reaction was "what an outrage!" initially after reading the headline, after reading the article and digesting it, I assume the people who decided to put the water back into the river figured 35,000 dollars was worth avoiding the bad publicity and potential complaints about having a man's urine in their drinking water. The water had already been filtered and cleaned and was going out to customers' taps for consumption.

Post: #22

Who the fuck would do that? Piss into a water reservoir? This is the ugly side of devil-may-care masculinity. Hope he gets caught and thrown in jail. Fuck whoever the piece of shit is.

Post: #23

^ You seem upset.

Post: #24

Don't fish fuck in that water?

Post: #25

How the fuck is 38 million gallons of public drinking water so easily accessed? What's to stop someone from going there and dumping a backpacks worth of poison in it?

I mean, if they are this worried about someone taking a piss in it, you'd think they'd beef up the security a bit in case someone decides to do some really heinous shit.