Treatment plant leaked raw sewage | Environment

Photos courtesy of KATU videographer Patty Norman.

The power was out from 11:19 a.m. to 5:20 p.m. at an Oregon City waste-water treatment plant. And that meant more than just darkness for the Tri-City Water Pollution Control Plant.

Instead of sending raw sewage to be treated, it piped the sewage directly into the Willamette River, according to Clackamas County officials.

Officials said about 3 million gallons of raw sewage had been dumped into the river by 2 p.m. Sunday. The sewage leak was capped when the power was restored just before 5:30 p.m.

The Tri-City Water Pollution Control Plant serves the cities of West Linn, Oregon City and Gladstone. Portland General Electric crews are working to restore power.

Officials at the state Department of Environmental Quality and the Oregon Emergency Response System are also involved. Signs have been posted in the area about the spill - though not before a fisherman was spotted dipping his line for fish Sunday afternoon.

This is not the first time in recent  months that sewage has drained directly into the Willamette River. On Oct. 4, KATU reported that the Willamette was taking on sewage overflow after heavy rain storms.

The Willamette River runs through Oregon's Willamette Valley, forming in the mountains near Cottage Grove and Three Sisters and ending where it flows into the Columbia River at Portland. This makes the Willamette one of the only rivers in the world to flow consistently north.

Water authorities said that the leak will not impact the safety of municipal water supplies. The closest town taking water from the Willamette River is Wilsonville - about 10 miles upstream from the spill. (Read the statement from Multnomah County's Public Health Officer.)