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Eugene Weekly : 12.18.03 Page 3 of 8 <br /> III <br /> length," says Thieman. "I think people don't have the urge to <br /> 411 protect it because it's something that they've just kind of <br /> thrown away in their minds as a resource." <br /> '-'4V.,.._.`V • (1..- .- ' Nevertheless, some residents care enough about local <br /> � � <br /> k� ,c ti -v . waterways to participate in the Watershed Council, a <br /> j t ',-=—`i voluntary grassroots group that brings together people with <br /> - ' , diverse perspectives on watershed-related issues. The <br /> -' -.--.:4t 1,, • -'' organization carries out restoration projects throughout the <br /> ' • ' _•' �' watershed, including on Amazon Creek. More than 100 active <br /> rik, council members include farmers, government officials, <br /> 0)1.5 <br /> "' representatives from the forest products industry and <br /> concerned citizens. <br /> Thieman says that the watershed council has given people a platform for non- <br /> confrontational dialogue. "There have been a fair number of acquaintenceships, if not <br /> friendships, struck between people who wouldn't otherwise talk to each other," she says. <br /> While she praises the city's approach to creek maintenance, Thieman is troubled by the <br /> amount of pollution in the Amazon Creek. Most of it, she emphasizes,comes not from <br /> industry,but from non-point source pollution—all of the contaminants running off the <br /> streets of Eugene. And the responsibility for it falls on the shoulders of every resident. <br /> Pavement's Price <br /> In a natural system,rainwater filters through layers of soil before reaching a body of water. <br /> But when the ground is paved,water rushes straight to the nearest storm drain,which <br /> carries it untreated to local waterways. For west and south Eugene residents, that means <br /> Amazon Creek. <br /> "You can think of a watershed as sort of like a sponge," explains Thieman. "If you shellac <br /> all over the sponge, it doesn't have the holding capacity it did." <br /> And Eugene has been shellacked. Every paved street, <br /> driveway, and parking lot in town is an impervious,or _ <br /> impenetrable, surface. So when it rains—and Eugene �` " W� :.. <br /> P � g <br /> gets an average of 54 inches of rain a year—the <br /> water picks up a stew of pollutants. These include <br /> fertilizers and pesticides from people's yards,moss <br /> retardant used on roofs,oils from cars, sediments and <br /> soaps hosed off driveways, and domestic animal <br /> wastes. <br /> "It's really death by a thousand cuts," says Taylor. Andy Gilmore <br /> S "And each individual homeowner, and each person, has a role to play there." <br /> What frustrates Thieman and Taylor about impervious surfaces is that without a concerted <br /> effort on the part of the citizens,there's not much that they can do to decrease the flow of <br /> http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/12_18_03/coverstory.html 1/6/04 <br />