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The city of Portland, Oregon, is ditching 38 million gallons of drinking water from a reservoir after a teenager was caught on camera urinating into it, officials said Thursday.
The water -- enough to fill nearly 60 Olympic-size swimming pools, according to reports -- will be discarded despite tests finding no evidence of contamination.
The 19-year old man, seen with two friends carrying skateboards in the early hours Wednesday, was filmed urinating through an iron fence into the reservoir in southeast Portland shortly after 1:00 am.
David Shaff, Portland Water Bureau Administrator, said about 38 million gallons will be discarded and replaced with fresh water from the Bull Run water supply -- even though subsequent tests showed no contamination.
"Our customers have an expectation that their water is not deliberately contaminated. We have the ability to meet that expectation while minimizing public health concerns," he said.
Portland Water Bureau spokesman Tim Hall dismissed suggestions that flushing away so much water was an overreaction to one man urinating in a reservoir.
"Any time there is human contamination of our drinking water, as a precaution we shut the reservoir down and begin to drain and clean it," he told AFP.
He added: "We're in an enviable position of having an abundant supply ... Therefore releasing this water did not create any financial impact in the city or for our customers."
But the decision raised eyebrows further south down the coast, where California is suffering from its worst drought in decades.
"Really, Portland Water Bureau officials, do you have to flush 38 million gallons of potable water for the sake of a cup or two of human urine?" one Los Angeles Times commentary asked.
"Have a little pity on your neighbors to the south. Remember California? That big, dry behemoth .... How do you think we feel, when we hear the whoosh of 38 million gallons going to waste? We're in a drought, remember? Not good. No, not good at all."
The three men involved have been excluded from the reservoir area, while police were reviewing the video surveillance footage to decide whether to press criminal charges, Hall said.
© (c) 2014 AFP
9 Comments
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Dave Bamps
What an absolute farce. Surely the water purification treatment plant can cope with a cup of pee? I bet a few hundred animals contributed to the volume of the reservoir at the same time as the lout on the skateboard, so how do the health and safety brigade legislate for that? The world is a mad house.
Scrote
What about all the other animals living there that might have urinated in the water, or is it completely devoid of any other life forms?
nandakandamanda
Animal urine good, human urine bad. Even the 'fresh' water from upstream must be natural, in all its meanings.
Something similar happened in the US northwest a few years ago, possibly reported here on JT.
I get the feeling though, that they are making an example of this idiot teenager to dissuade others from similar actions. Also, once one person has raised a fuss, it becomes an all-or-nothing situation.
MarkG
....and the wildfowl defecating in it.
I thought all consumables have a "Parts Per Million" acceptance level. The PPM of one urination in 38 million gallons is minimal. Perhaps it was an excuse to empty it for other reasons not immediately valid.
Mocheake
I understand them thinking it may not be good for human consumption but it could have been put to a different use. The man who urinated into the reservoir should be prosecuted.
BPoint
Haha....awesome..!! Urine is sterile..
samwatters
All of you who are criticizing Portland for dumping the water don't understand contemporary American culture. If the Portland company did not drain the water and someone in the area drank it and became sick or got hit by a car or grew old or couldn't get internet reception on their iPhone or had an otherwise bad day, that person or persons would deduce that their problems must be the result of the company not draining the water and removing the pee and would thus be able to sue the water company for millions and millions of dollars.
tmarie
This is sad - and such an indication of our throw away culture. What a massive waste. People are dying for water in other countries and Portland does this?
presto345
This is more than sad. It is totally ridiculous. The urine won't even show up in the most stringent laboratory testing. Portland has pollution problems the state has not managed to get under control, problems far worse than a drop of urine in the ocean of the reservoir. Tim Hall beating his chest implying 'we have enough drinking water and can afford to waste it' has his own ideas about water management it seems.