High-water signs were no longer needed, but a sign warned people at Bowman of a sewage spill today.
Bowman Park on the Willamette River in Albany was closed today because of an overflow of untreated sewage caused by a power failure that shut down the city’s treatment plant and related pump stations.
In a news release, Albany Public Works said the spill into the Willamette River started at about 7:30 a.m. and stopped at about 8:35 a.m. when power was restored. The city estimated the amount of the spill at 103,000 gallons.
Pacific Power said that the outage started a few minutes after 6 when a switch at or near the Murder Creek Substation failed. Company spokesman Brandon Zero said from Portland that 1,220 customers were affected, and all but 179 got their power back at 8:08. Service was fully restored shortly after noon.
The city issued a statement this afternoon that said in part:
“The overflow began at approximately 7:30 a.m. due to an early morning power outage that shut down treatment at Albany-Millersburg Water Reclamation Facility (WRF) and associated sewer lift stations. The facility does have a redundant system of two power feeds from the electrical grid, but both failed. When Pacific Power restored their service at approximately 8:35 a.m. the WRF came back online, and the overflow stopped. Public Works crews coordinated closely with Pacific Power and were immediately dispatched to minimize and clean up the impacts of the overflow.
“Bowman Park is temporarily closed. Signs are posted near the overflow site and downstream warning the public of the potential hazards of coming in contact with the water. High levels of bacteria that are typically associated with overflows should diminish quickly. The City of Albany will continue to monitor water quality in the Willamette River and report to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. The public should avoid contact with the Willamette River at this location and immediately downstream until warning signs are removed, and the park is reopened.”
“If you see an overflowing manhole or wish to report a spill, please contact Public Works Department Operations at 541-917-7600.”
The sewer plant does not have an emergency generator, which would have to be super-massive to power a plant of that size. Instead, the plant is equipped with electrical gear that automatically switches to another segment of the power grid if one segment goes out.
Public Works Director Chrias Bailey told me it wasn’t clear yet why this morning both circuits went dead. (hh)
The barrier was closed today, keeping cars out of Bowman Park, but not bikes.
Is everyone really just accepting that when the power goes off, and then an emergency backup switch fails, Albany loses control of its bowels until the power comes back on?
I smell a fine from Oregon DEQ in Albany’s near future.
Foul on the play
Presumption of fault.
Neither of the power sources “belong” to Albany
I throw the challenge flag.
Power outages happen. But DEQ may still issue a fine for a sewage spill that happened during a power outage. Just ask Eugene.
The question will come down to system design. Were adequate preventive measures in place? Did the responsible humans follow them?
Hopefully Hasso will write a follow-up article if he can get his hands on the investigation report.
Even though this is “sewage”, a back up generator might be able to handle things when we don’t have as much inflow from storm sewers. It has been excessively wet lately.
Many thanks for the infor. We got a phone call reporting the incident and warning us not to go near the site of the spill. We were wondering what happened – again thanks!
It’s a good thing we have abundant electricity.
Isn’t this the second time in a few weeks? Neglecting our infrastructure, while adding more housing, really isn’t a good idea. Time for Albany officials to wake up and DO something constructive.
Whoa back there.
City of Albany has neither ownership nor authority over the electric systems.
How about a hefty fine for polluting? Install a backup generator or pay the fine.
Fine or generator (I imagine it’s quite a bit more complicated and costly than just running down to the hardware store) you do know who will ultimately pay for either “solution” right? I don’t know why you would want either based on the general sentiment around the comments section of this blog.
Well, who ultimately pays for these “overflows”? I would imagine they are one in the same.
Wow, seriously? So they lose it when the power goes out? Thats pretty sad. How about a backup something or other???
And y’all want nothing but electric cars and electronic currency…
All it takes is a switch to control your lives.
Think about that for a moment…a flip of a switch and you’ll have sh***y life. (pun intended)
And with the newer digital meters, they can control individual lives when the govt. decides it’s time to take full control of the power grid. The intent of the 2nd Amendment was to prevent a tyrannical govt.
“Instead, the plant is equipped with electrical gear that automatically switches to another segment of the power grid if one segment goes out.” So why did that not work? Was that supposed to be plan B?? Was that plan actually connected to work??
Thank you to Mr. Hasso Hering…once again!
ADH & other “local sources” don’t have in-depth community coverage, nor do they keep local residents informed to the degree that you regularly do!
I recall reading many well-written articles with your byline throughout my life. I admire and can appreciate the tenacity required to carve out your niche (and a living!) in the Willamette Valley.
Regards,
90-91 LBCC journalism student
& Editor: Eloquent Umbrella