Don't Drink the Willamette!

Families for Safe Water Coalition formed in 2007 after members of Citizens for Safe Water and the Alliance for Democracy - Portland Chapter learned that the Tualatin Valley Water District Board was moving ahead with plans to move from accessing the Bull Run source of drinking water to accessing the Willamette River as a principle source of water.

The Willamette River is one of the 10 most endangered rivers in the United States.

Portland Bull Run water is a natural, pristine source of water from a federally protected watershed, requiring almost no treatment.

WHY WOULD WE WANT TO DRINK FROM THE WILLAMETTE?

Tualatin Valley Water District Board Meetings

Third Wednesday each month, 7-9 PM

1850 SW 170th Ave. Beaverton OR 97006

The public is encouraged to attend board meetings. You do not need to live in the district.

Contact theTVWD board via email at patty@tvwd.org

MAY 19 ELECTION WILL DETERMINE
WHAT KIND OF WATER YOU WILL DRINK
in the Tualatin Valley Water District (TVWD)

Is the Willamette Plant Still in the Running?  
An Update on TVWD's Search  to Cut Back on use of Bull Run Water 


On May 19 customers of TVWD will vote to elect  three commissioners to the TVWD Board. Two candidates, Colm Brennan and Joanne Delmonico, have announced their determination to question and turn around the recent decision of the Board to severely cut the use of Bull Run water for the District.  They are concerned that the current Board may be seriously considering the use of the Willamette River as an immediate substitute water source if its plans for a dam raise are curtailed.  In 2005 a TVWD poll of its customers revealed that they preferred Bull Run water over Willamette water by 5 to 1.

Families for Safe Water believe that we should elect TVWD Board members who will keep an open mind and pay close attention to their customers. We strongly endorse these two candidates.  They have been a consistent voice for the public  at TVWD Board meetings, raising questions on costs, why the Board has cut back on using Bull Run water and why it financially supports an agency whose major mission is to move the TVWD toward using the Willamette Plan.

How Did We get to This Point:

The TVWD Board decided to  sharply reduce the amount of water it would receive from Portland under its new contract.  They studied two options for its future water supply  -  raising an existing dam at Hagg Lake or going to the Willamette. 

In December 2007 the Board indicated that they were joining instead with several other water service and irrigation districts to accept transfer of ownership of the federal Bureau of Reclamation Dam at Hagg Lake and proceed to raise that dam to provide more water. They  stated  that this meant that the Willamette Plant was off the table as a major water source, since they could not afford to develop both the Willamette Plant connection and the dam raise at the same time.  Now we have learned that seismic studies suggest that it may not be feasible to build a higher dam sufficient to supply the region. It may be necessary to build a smaller  dam and get the rest of their supply from the Willamette Plant!

As reports from observers attest, the information about this possible switch in plans has not been stated directly to the public by the TVWD board or adminsration, but has dribbled out from other sources. Further, there has been little information on what the various options would cost.

The fear is that the Board may suddenly declare an emergency if the big dam raise is declared to be unfeasible.  They may say that in order to meet water demands  they may have to settle for a smaller dam, and fill the gap with water supply with water from the Willamette River. They could ignore a possible alternative which would be to negotiate a new longer term contract with the City of Portland to maintain an adequate long term water supply from the Bull Run system.  See item on why we want to continue primary reliance on Bull Run water.

Critical decisions will likely be faced as early as June, just after the May 19 election.

Electing public advocates to the Board is important in determining whether the Board will finally start to answer questions from the public and be more responsive to the people's preferences. 

MAKE SURE  YOUR VOICE IS  HEARD! 
VOTE FOR JOANNE DELMONICO AND COLM BRENNAN
FOR THE TVWD BOARD ON MAY 19, 2009.

View and print a campaign flyer for
Joanne Delmonico
Colm Brennan

Some history

The Problem
Recent actions on the part of the Tualatin Valley Water District board have caused its customers great concern. In statements and actions they have said they will decide by the end of this year will they will connect to the Wilsonville Treatment Plant.

This would be a first step toward use of the Willamette River as the principal source of drinking water for the district.

*The Willamette River is known for the many noxious contaminants which enter its waters from the waste treatment plants, industrial plants, agricultural lands and urban areas which adjoin and drain into the river. Some of these contaminants are treated by the Willamette Treatment plant, but many others are either not yet identified, or no standards have yet been set for them by the EPA. Some products such as pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, fertilizers and endocrine disrupters enter the river before health risks are known or contamination levels are tested. Due to inadequate resources, the Oregon DEQ relies mainly on self-regulation and self-reporting by the polluting companies to track industrial wastes that enter the river through the notorious toxic mixing zones.
*The Willamette plant is operated by Veolia, the American offshoot of a French transnational corporation which seeks to operate and/or buy into water resources in the United States, as well as many third-world countries. Public Citizen has documented a number of instances where this company has failed to meet its commitments in the operation of water treatment plants. For example in Indianapolis several employees of the Veolia operation are under indictment for falsifying water quality records. The company has been accused of cutting back on employees, water testing, purification chemicals and maintenance.
*The Willamette option would require an estimated $400 million to build a 22 mile pipeline uphill from the Willamette River to the urban sections of Washington County. It would require large amounts of energy to deliver the water on this uphill path.

Customers Opposed to Using the Willamette
For these reasons, residents of the District have repeatedly expressed their opposition to changing from Bull Run water, their current major source, to the Willamette. A 2005 poll of its customers conducted by TVWD showed the respondents preferring Bull Run water over Willamette river by 5 to 1.
There is an ordinance on the TVWD books which forbids the use of Willamette River water for drinking water in the District without a referral to and a positive vote of the residents in its district. But the District has recently allocated $12.5 million in its next budget for “expanding the Willamette Source.”
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Last page update: 4-1-09