Governor Kate Brown has announced a state of emergency for three Oregon counties—Marion, Polk, and Lake—all for water-related issues.
Marion and Polk counties are dealing with an algae bloom in Detroit Lake—the primary water source for residents of Salem—which has made public water unsafe to drink for children under six and those who are immunocompromised. Governor Brown directed Oregon’s Military Department to deploy 10 clean water stations in the area. “Conditions continue to be closely monitored to ensure the health and safety of Detroit Lake water users,” she said in a press release.
Lake County (south of Bend) is also in a sort-of water crisis—Brown declared a drought emergency for this southern county, which could worsen the region’s coming wildfire season.
“The conditions in Lake County are already concerning,” Brown said in a press release. “I’m directing state agencies to prioritize assistance in the area to help minimize the impacts drought conditions could have on the local economy.” The emergency allows the county more flexibility in water management (ie: allowing governments to limit water usage).
The city of Salem has drawn some criticism for the way it handled its water emergency. The city’s emergency alert system put out two alerts on Tuesday evening that alerted residents as far away as Woodburn of an undefined “Civil Emergency,” without mentioning water at all. The alerts—which covered some areas completely unaffected by the water problem—provided so little context, they incited a bit of panic.
If you received this alert Woodburn area residents, please disregard. We’ve learned from State OEM it was sent in error and was intended for the Salem area about water issues. @CityofWoodburn @WoodburnFireDst @WoodburnPolice @MCSOInTheKnow @Metcom_911 @MarionCountyEM pic.twitter.com/9ulkEJMTze
— Chief Jim Ferraris (@chiefferraris) May 30, 2018
Concerned Salem residents then flooded Salem’s emergency website, causing it to crash.
THERE IS NO CIVIL EMERGENCY. The message was intended to notify those affected by the water issue in Salem. PLEASE DO NOT CALL 911.
— Marion Co. Sheriff (@MCSOInTheKnow) May 30, 2018
Well with Scott Pruitt destroying the EPA and Ryan Zinke destroying any untouched lands to make sure we can drill or frack and sell everything to the highest bidder, don’t expect anything to change for the better anytime soon. How long has Flint, MI been drinking/bathing-in/cooking with/living with contaminated water? When will the infrastructure be fixed so that’s no longer happening?
Welcome to America, shittier than ever. Don’t expect your air, water, or land to be safe or protected and if you get sick and die because of it, oh well, it’s just too bad you didn’t have enough money to get enough health care to (maybe) safe your life. The current damage being done will NOT BE ABLE TO BE UNDONE. PERIOD.
Keep voting Republican assholes.