In this Sunday's editorial piece, the Editorial Board at the Oregonian declared our drinking water safe and our financial health in peril. Their willingness to finally recognize the data that verifies Portland really does serve clean water from Bull Run through both open and closed reservoirs, is in part inspired by a letter written by Dr. Thomas Ward (an infectious disease specialist at OHSU) to Commissioner Leonard and others this week. Ward's letter is highly educational, and I can't recommend it enough: read the Ward Letter.
The editorial also refers to the Portland Waters Users Coalition's opinion that Portland is barrelling towards a precipice. (PWUC is a coalition of businesses which depend heavily on affordably clean water; you'll note that Widmer Brewing is a member). A letter drafted this week by the Physicians for Social Responsibility (and signed on to by many groups, including Widmer, PWUC, Sierra Club, and Food &Water Watch) adamantly urged our Commissioners to take immediate action to stop LT2 contracts and seek a delay in the compliance timeline.
In the last few weeks, reporter Scott Learn has produced two substantive articles on our water system and how EPA's LT2 seems an inappropriate mandate here. Read the first article here, and the second article here. This issue is finally getting the attention it deserves.
