Perhaps you remember reading something about a certain riverine event Sunday, July 31, that the good ol’ Mercury has decided to help sponsor: It’s called the Big Float—and it basically consists of several hundred people crawling onto their inner tubes, inflatable chaise lounges, giant alligator balloons, etc., and then spending an hour floating lazily down the Willamette River twixt the Hawthorne and Marquam bridges. Their handsome reward? Bands! And food-cart food!
The point of all this is to remind everyone that getting the Willamette River on your skin, when you inevitably fall in or get splashed by some asshole youryou’re “friends” with, (probably) won’t kill you. As such, Willamette Riverkeeper also is sponsoring the float.
Despite public perception (which we are trying to change), the Willamette River is fine for swimming, except in rare instances when Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) conditions are present. Otherwise, DEQ states “the Willamette River is safe for swimming and other recreational uses.
Okay. Fine. But just how “safe” is it? And would you still really want to get wet with it? Also how far from “not safe” is the mighty, and still gray, Willamette?
At risk of starting another one of these discussions, I want to hear from Blogtown: What science-type assurances would you need to have before you felt okay about jumping in the river and, y’know, taking in a gulp or two. Post ’em here—and any rebuttals if you’ve got ’em—and look for a story in a couple of weeks that will either (hopefully) put your swim-ready mind at ease or make you put on your pants so fast you forget to button them and creep everyone out for the rest of the day.
What next, a run through the sprinklers at the Fukushima nuke plant? Maybe a slip n slide using oil spilled in the gulf. Or possibly a nice tall glass of pee water. If everyone who does this float takes a crap while they are doing it, at least they will know they are floating in their own shit.
when I lived in corvallis there was a day that the sierra club or some group was floating down the willamette to raise awareness of river issues. The water treatment plant was “inadvertantly” dumping raw sewage directly into the river… They can dump a ton of sewage in before they have to say that people shouldn’t swim in the river.
If anyone pees in the river during this event, I am going to demand they drain it and refill it.
I want to see Steve get a colonic irrigation with Willamette water. I don’t know if that’ll prove anything, but I think it’s a fun plan.
‘Here’s your $10K check’ is what I’d like to hear.
This event cements the perception most hipsters are not from Portland.
the columbia is worse than the willamette. I lived in the tri cities which has the hanford nuclear facility I promise both rivers are no good.
If you could somehow make this into a Groupon I’m sure a lot of idiots would show up.
Hey the beav, what were you doing in the tri cities area, and what exactly is the problem? Not cool to squirrel away information.
I wouldn’t be afraid to drink some in the middle of the summer. CSOs just don’t really happen without something to cause them.
Science stuff? Just post the results of some independent water tests. You weenies all swallow more fecal bacteria when you use your toothbrush.
If Ned doesn’t show up for this event as Boat Cop, it will have all been for nothing.
I swam across the river during two of the “Portland Challenge” events, and I didn’t get sick. Copious amounts of hard liquor immediately afterward should kill off (or at least assuage the anger of) any microscopic beasties you may ingest with the water. (And if you do get sick, and survive, think of the boost your immune system is getting!)
Your should be you’re, Denis.
I’m doing it. I survived swimming in the waters of Columbia as a child, so I’m going for it. Plus I’m tired of mocking the people who go water and jet skiing in the summer. It looks like fun, and I decided to believe the water quality tests.
I’ll be there if I’m not at work and I can find an tube or somesuch. I generally try to avoid swallowing some of any body of water I’m swimming/floating it. But it’s true. The Willamette isn’t nearly as gross as everyone seems to think (not really grosser than the vast majority of water bodies in America) and I’d be glad to be in it unless I’m right next to a CSO.
Which is should be noted is the reason they’ve done these big pipe projects. We’re working to make those a thing of the past.
I am so tired of this misconception that the Willamette is some kind of toxic shithole. Its 2011, there have been 20+ years of cleanups up and down the river, and thanks to the new diversion pipes the CSOs problem has been mainly curtailed, and anyway its summer, which means that isn’t a significant risk. I have paddled and swam in the river multiple times weekly for the past 5 years, and have never had any complications relating from it.
I would need those signs to disappear that warn you almost anywhere you might jump in the river “danger, sewage!!!!”
http://www.oregonlive.com/west-linn/index.…