It’s not exactly Zuma Beach, let alone the French Riviera, but as an occasional swimming hole this spot on the Calapooia River upstream of the Queen Avenue bridge has its uses during the mid-valley summer. At least for a few people, as in this shot from June 30.
The rules under which small Oregon towns will have to operate their storm water systems are still in flux, and how costly they will be and what effect they will have on Albany’s eventual rain tax nobody knows.
On a bike ride Wednesday to celebrate the temporary absence of rain, I stopped at Albany’s Bowman Park to take a quick look at the Willamette River. It reminded me that a few days ago, the river got a B-minus on some report card. Why not an A or at least a plain B?
The rainy season has started and, as though on cue, the Albany City Council is taking up consideration of a tax on rain. But before such an added tax is enacted, second thoughts are in order.
A federal law, the Clean Water Act, gives regulators the authority to say what conditions they would like to see in our rivers. But nature does not necessarily cooperate, and then there’s the potential for conflict and a lot of public expense. We’re at that stage in Oregon. Since 2003 the state DEQ, under the […]
Albany going to court over DEQ permit
The state Department of Environmental Quality’s latest move to control the discharge of stormwater will cause the city of Albany and property owners all kinds of problems, so the city is going to court.
Tags: DEQ, stormwater permit, water pollution, water quality standards