Max Haworth, Libby Bissen , Tom Krome , Graham Mitchell ENVS 220, Fall ‘13

1. Infrastructure and Water Quality in the Urban Willamette Max Haworth, Libby Bissen, Tom Krome, Graham Mitchell ENVS 220, Fall ‘13 What role has the 1991 lawsuit, “NWEA v. City of Portland” played in determining infrastructural and chemical changes, as well as the narrative of water improvement, in Portland’s urban Willamette River? Background Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs) were an original feature of Portland’s wastewater infrastructure that were responsible for transforming the Willamette from a resource to the city’s inhabitants to a health hazard. Low productivity from eutrophication and the presence of harmful bacteria such as E. Coli prevented safe access to the river. The 1972 Clean Water Act paved the way for a subsequent lawsuit that obligated the City of Portland to reconstruct the CSO system. The “Big Pipe Project,” funded entirely with taxpayer dollars, began in 1996 and was finished in 2011, reducing CSO outfalls to the urban Willamette by 99% and providing the Columbia River Wastewater Treatment Facility (CBWTF) with greater capacity to handle exceptionally large inflows • Results • Quantitative: • Compared our DO values to an external dataset • Daily DO values for Oct. 2009 – Sept. 2013 for a site just north of the Morrison Bridge • No correlation between amount of dissolved oxygen and distance downstream from control site • Results weren’t statistically significant • Qualitative: • Color/light: used by BES to increase viewer positivity but not relevant for CBWTF because not image obsessed • Archetypes: movement of water signifies rebirth • BES revamps image of Portland’s sewer system • CBWTF restores cleanliness of water • Presentation of infrastructure: • BES tears down old to make room for new • CBWTF utilizes old structures and incorporates them into development Discussion The City of Portland has been shown to prioritize for positive public perception, perhaps above water quality. The narrative of improvements to the Willamette’s health depicts the construction of a treatment facility in the 1950s. This began a series of incremental changes in wastewater infrastructure until the catalytic effect of the 1991 lawsuit for cleaner river water. Measuring the water quality at current CSO’s allowed us to determine whether these changes are as successful as portrayed by the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services. By analyzing the BES video and footage from our tour, we find the BES posturing itself through use of archetypes, presentation of infrastructure, and the use of color and light in conveying a noble image. The true driver for change in scenarios of infrastructure improvement isn’t derived from the conditions that outdated structures promote; rather, we see institutions avoiding the criticism associated with a negative image. • Quantitative Methods • Determined where different CSO outfalls are located along the river • Samples were collected via kayak • Measured water quality by 2 proxies associated with eutrophication: • Dissolved O2 (DO) • Nitrate level • Qualitative Methods • Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) video • Intended to demonstrate success of infrastructural changes • CBWTF tour video • Demonstrates treatment facility’s ideals of efficiency/effectiveness • Analyzed both for use of color/light, archetypal imagery, and presentation of infrastructure Figure 1. shows the discrepancy between our Water quality data and the normal values for Dissolved oxygen and nitrate levels. Fradet, Olivier, Martin Pleau, and Christiane Marcoux. 2011. “Reducing CSOs and Giving the River Back to the Public: Innovative Combined Sewer Overflow Control and Riverbanks Restoration of the St Charles River in Quebec City.” Water Science & Technology 63 (2) (January 15): 331–338. doi:10.2166/wst.2011.059. Bell, Nina. 2011. “Northwest Environmental Advocates--Programs.” Northwest Environmental Advocates. December. http://www.northwestenvironmentaladvocates.org/programs/12S.html. Pedersen, Dick to Environmental Quality Commission. Memorandum. 2011. “State of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Memorandum”, January 28. NORTHWEST ENVIRONMENTAL ADVOCATES, a Non-Profit Oregon Corporation; and Nina Bell V. CITY OF PORTLAND. 1995. United States Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit. References