At roughly 2:30 on Sunday afternoon, weekend rains flooded Portland’s Big Pipe system, causing sewage and rainfall to start spilling into the Willamette River.
According to a news release from the city, the affected area may grow upstream if the rain persists, but the sewage-stormwater mixture is already leaking into the river downstream of the Ross Island Bridge.
According to the authorities, there are more bacteria in the water following an overflow, therefore people should stay away from it for at least 48 hours.
As of Sunday afternoon at 5 p.m., that spill was still going on.
According to the city, the two enormous pipelines beside the Willamette River typically carry 5% of their 100 million gallon capacity. The city’s wastewater treatment plant receives both the stormwater and the sewage.
However, those levels increased somewhat this weekend due to an atmospheric river that dumped rain over Portland. The pipes were 40% full by Sunday morning at 5 a.m., and by the early afternoon, they were overflowing.
According to the city, the pipes overflow about four times a year. That occurred about 50 times a year prior to the installation of the large pipe system in 2011.
Here, you may monitor the pipe capacity levels.
When the overflow is over, this story will be updated.
Sami Edge writes for The Oregonian on state government. She may be contacted at (503) 260-3430 or [email protected].
