https://socialistaction.org/2018/07/03/oregon-water-crisis-a-product-of-climate-change/
Oregon water crisis: A product of climate change
/ 6 days ago
July 2018 Oregon water
By ANN MONTAGUE
— SALEM, Ore. — People in Oregon are usually proud of their natural
resources. All school children know that in 1966 Governor Tom McCall
took on the real estate barons with public pressure behind him, and all
Oregon beaches were legally declared public property with unfettered
access for all.
So those of us living in Marion County (which includes Salem, the state
capital, and 10 other communities) were surprised on May 29 to receive
an emergency alert: “WATER EMERGENCY FOR THE SALEM AREA.” People were
warned not to ingest tap water and to drink only bottled water, as
boiling or using a filter would not make it safe. While the warnings
were aimed at children under six, those with compromised immune systems
or with kidney or liver conditions, women who are pregnant or breast
feeding, and the elderly and people with pets, most everyone seemed to
think that caution is the best policy.
After the first two days, we were told we could resume drinking tap
water, but the next day, they said that the warning would resume for two
weeks. Currently, it is indefinite as to when people can once again
digest water from the tap. After the first couple of days, the governor
sent the National Guard to distribute water to about 10 locations. This
has continued with military precision; as long as people have
containers, they can fill up five gallons at a time for 24 hours a day.
At informational meetings about the water alert, many people who attend
identify the causes as climate change and a 30-year-old filter system.
The water is contaminated as a result of toxins (cynatoxins) from algae
blooms in Detroit Lake, which is our water source. These toxins are a
result of a longer period of hot weather than Oregon has had in the
past. Generally, Oregonians say that it doesn’t start to warm up until
after July 4th, but May of this year has been the hottest and driest
since 1892.
This explains the growth of toxins, but the other question people want
answered is “why do we have a 30-year-old filter system and why do we
send water samples for testing to Ohio instead of locally? The simple
answer is that the Salem city council and the Marion County
Commissioners did not want to spend the money to upgrade the water
system. Now that we have been without city water for over a month,
however, they have decided to make changes. But while they are testing
new systems, the water is still not safe to drink.
The city has ordered a new testing system, which will take a week to set
up and train staff on its use. They are also testing a system of
powdered activated carbon to remove the toxins.
The clearest statement about the situation came from Rebecca Hillwig,
natural resource specialist with the Oregon Health Authority: “I think
it is fair to say that factors associated with global warming—hotter and
drier conditions and a rapid snow melt could definitely increase
conditions that cause algae blooms. … It is fair to say we have
potential for more of these issues in the future.”
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July 3, 2018 in Environment.
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