Dear friends, users, neighbors and associates of Powell Butte,
We are writing to let you know about proposed plans for a 5+ acre water treatment plant near the top of Powell Butte.
Imagine a 2-story high treatment plant situated near the top of the butte with its associated security fences, lights, operational needs, large trucks, additional roads, and workers commuting by vehicle. Please take a moment to read this information and, if concerned, contact Commissioner Saltzman and Mayor Katz. Unless many Powell Butte patrons voice their opinion now, this facility could become reality.
A citizens committee was formed in 2001 to advise the Water Bureau and its commissioner on Portland’s options for meeting Federal regulations for treating Cryptosporidium. The panel was also asked to recommend a site for the treatment facility. The panel recommendation is a membrane filtration plant at Powell Butte (PB). There were three public hearings in late May and early June 2002 about this recommendation. Numerous friends, users, and neighbors of PB gave written and verbal testimony. After this testimony, the Citizens’ Panel wrote in the final report: "The Panel recommends that the treatment facility be located at Powell Butte. The panel’s siting recommendation is based solely on consideration of water system issues such as site ownership, location and elevation. The Panel recognizes neighborhood concerns and recommends that the Water Bureau fully engage the community in future deliberations and decision making regarding the siting of the facility."
The Friends of Powell Butte is concerned that the impacts of a WTP on wildlife and people’s enjoyment of nature have not been accurately assessed. If you care about Powell Butte as a nature park, please voice your concerns to Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Mayor Katz. Thanks to many Powell Butte supporters writing letters, other opposition to the very expensive membrane treatment plant, and a complex proposal to create a regional drinking water agency, the decision about a treatment plant has been put on hold until January 2004. In part due to our pressure, the Portland Water Bureau will be searching for other treatment plant sites outside the Urban Growth Boundary. But Powell Butte is still on the table for the treatment plant. So we need your continued letters to let our elected officials know your views.
Please take a moment to let Commissioner Dan Saltzman and Mayor Vera Katz know your views:
Commissioner Saltzman: Mayor Katz
Phone: 503-823-4151 503-823-4120
E-mail:
dsaltzman@ci.portland.or.us mayorkatz@ci.portland.or.us
Address: 1221 SW 4th, Room 230, Portland, OR 97204 Same, Room 340
Some of our main points are summarized on the attached page. There is more information about water treatment and the panel’s final Report and Recommendations at
www.bullrun.ci.portland.or.us. Thank you so much,
Tamra Dickinson Bruce Donaldson
trdickinson@earthlink.net bwdcap@juno.com
13737 SE Ellis, Portland, OR 97236 2105 SE 142nd, Portland, OR 97233
503.760.4264 503.760-2439
Co-Chairs, Friends of Powell Butte
REASONS WHY A TREATMENT PLANT SHOULD NOT BE LOCATED ON POWELL BUTTE
Powell Butte was dedicated as a nature park in 1990: "At the dedication ceremony in 1990, Ed Tenny, then director of the water bureau, referenced only new underground reservoirs, not a potential treatment plant. "We have spared a little oasis in the middle of the city," he said. (Oregonian, June 20, 2002)
- A treatment plant at Powell Butte damages the view that many people go to the butte to appreciate.
The view from the top of the Butte would be directly over the plant. Instead of the current vista, roads, buildings, fences, and lights at night, would become a large part of the scene of the park.
- We are concerned about the noise, lighting, vehicle exhaust, and general hubbub created by waste hauling, security, and commuting for daily operation of a WTP, not only for humans, but also for the wildlife the park protects. We are concerned that there is not enough information known or attention paid to the impacts of a WTP, such as the actual size of the land plot needed, resulting noise from operation, the extent and placement of additional roads, additional light at night, or the effects on wildlife.
A way to prevent disinfection byproducts in the water we consume is to place filtration before chlorination, which could happen at the Lusted Hill site, since that is where the water is chlorinated. Disinfection byproducts are a public health concern because they are linked to cancers and reproductive problems such as miscarriages.
- There is a viable alternative site at Lusted Hill
, 98 acres near the Sandy River. It is owned by the water bureau and contains the chlorination/ammoniation plant. It is currently leased for grazing and agriculture. A WTP here would provide clean and treated water to Powell Butte reservoirs, which in turn feed the Mt. Tabor, and Washington Park reservoirs. Untreated water would not have to be in the same reservoir area as the treated water. While a WTP at Lusted Hill is slightly more expensive to build ($204 million vs. $202 million at PB), it is only 1% more, a relatively insignificant difference. Additionally, Lusted Hill treatment would provide gravity delivered water for all the east county residents. If the treatment plant is at Powell Butte, then water must be pumped back uphill to serve those customers.
- The Powell Butte siting decision was made after one brief visit to the park. Neither the Portland Parks Department nor the Friends of Powell Butte were informed about or invited to participate on the Citizen's Panel or briefing and information sessions.
THE PANEL’S REASONS TO PUT A WTP ON POWELL BUTTE, AND OUR RESPONSE
The Panel states, "The City of Portland purchased this 578-acre property in 1925 to serve as a site for future water facilities. Powell Butte’s location and elevation make it a key element in the regional water supply system." The panel noted that Powell Butte’s location enabled connection to other metropolitan Portland water systems such as the Clackamas River, Columbia wellfields, and Willamette River water from Wilsonville. Connecting to these systems would increase water availability options and create emergency backups. Mix ‘n match water could become a reality. Depending upon one’s viewpoint, Powell Butte is blessed or cursed with its prime location as "water central." We want to support Portland’s water system; we also want to be wise about what must be at the butte and what does not need to be at the butte. Three new reservoirs will be built on Powell Butte with no opposition from our friends group. The Powell Butte Master Plan, created by the Water Bureau, Parks, and citizen groups and approved by the City Council states that Powell Butte is for water, nature, and for human enjoyment of nature. We think that the consideration for the treatment plant siting must take into account the other two defined uses.
The Panel states, "Powell Butte is located within Portland’s urban growth boundary, a key consideration for permitting." Powell Butte’s location within the urban growth boundary should be a large consideration in preserving the area as a nature park. Especially a park in an area of the city noted to have less area dedicated as parkland. A regional water system is under consideration by our water districts. If a regional water system becomes a reality, then the land permit for the treatment plant must consider siting on non-urban land since it will serve the region, not just Portland. Currently the Portland Water Bureau wholesales water to fourteen water districts and cities outside of Portland, these accounting for 44% of annual water demand. The report states, "a preliminary analysis suggested that siting a facility at the Lusted Hill location would not conflict with statewide planning goals.
The Panel states, "Powell Butte’s urban location has the additional benefit of providing greater opportunities to use the treatment facility to contribute to public awareness of water resource management issues and to develop public education and community recreation facilities." Although we support the concept of contributing to public awareness of water resource management issues, having a water treatment plant accessible to the general public is not a good idea with the realities of terrorism in a post 9/11 world. The park receives significant use from school groups already; the study is natural history, ecology, and service to the community through volunteer projects. Lusted Hill does not have thousands of visitors, a much better security investment. What if Powell Butte was closed to visitors because of future water safety issues? Hundreds of people a day visit Powell Butte to enjoy its natural state. Additionally, the Powell Butte Master Plan outlines a small interpretive area for educational purposes. The current interpretive display would be upgraded when the new reservoirs are built, and are not dependent on a water treatment facility. We are not sure what the panel means by "community recreation facilities." Again, the Master Plan emphasizes that the vision for Powell Butte is to maintain it as a nature park with resource-based recreation. No "recreation facilities" are needed, just trail maintenance.