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Eugene Weekly : 12.18.03 Page 7 of 8 <br /> • percent of the companies complied, a biological survey showed that the A-3 Channel was <br /> • still highly degraded and had almost no habitat value. <br /> The A-3 is listed on Oregon's 303(d) list of water quality limited streams for six <br /> parameters: dichloroethylenes, tetrachloroethylene, arsenic, lead,mercury, and E. coli. <br /> "That's from a legacy of industry along the A-3 Channel," says Cindy Thieman of the Long <br /> Tom Watershed Council, "before there were the types of regulations that there are today." <br /> This is not good news. Dichloroethylenes affect the growth, tissue structure, and mortality <br /> of fish. Tetrachloroethylene, a known carcinogen, affects the behavior and mortality of <br /> fish,kills insects and worms, impacts the biochemistry of phytoplankton, and impairs the <br /> reproduction of zooplankton. Arsenic, a known carcinogen and developmental toxin for <br /> humans, can kill amphibians, fish and zooplankton. Lead, also a known carcinogen and a <br /> developmental toxin, has negative effects on worms, amphibians, fish,mollusks, insects, <br /> aquatic and terrestrial plants,phytoplankton and zooplankton. Mercury, a developmental <br /> toxin, is highly toxic to amphibians,crustaceans, fish, nematodes and zooplankton. And E. <br /> coli, a bacteria commonly found in the intestines of humans and animals, is identified as an <br /> emerging cause of food borne and waterborne illnesses. <br /> One way to reduce the movement of pollutants is to encourage sedimentation. A weir <br /> structure controls the flow of water from the A-3 Channel, allowing for the deposition of <br /> sediments in the flooded Meadowlark Prairie. The A-3 flows into the original Amazon <br /> Creek channel several hundred yards south of this structure. <br /> But the city does little else to deal with the pollution in the A-3 Channel. "The toxic issues <br /> along A-3 we're not currently addressing," says Trevor Taylor of the Parks and Open <br /> Space Division. "Most of the toxins are heavy metals, and a lot of the heavy metals bind <br /> with sediment. For us to remediate them,we'd have to dig them out and send them to a <br /> special toxic materials landfill." The city chooses not to do this, says Taylor,because <br /> disturbing the sediments would kick up the heavy metals and cause them to start flowing <br /> down the creek. "Our hope is to really not disturb them," he says.—Kera Abraham <br /> For more information about the A-3 channel and other waterways on Oregon's 303(d)list, visit the <br /> DEQ's website:www.deq.state.or.us.To learn more about the hazards of specific chemicals, check <br /> out the Pesticide Action Network's chemical information database:www.pesticideinfo.org. <br /> THE EMERALD CANAL <br /> For decades now, a small group of Eugeneans has been advocating for an 11-block canal <br /> connecting the Shaw's Millrace near 10th and Ferry to what landscape architect professor <br /> Jerry Diethelm calls "that concrete eyesore masquerading as Amazon Creek" at 17th and <br /> Oak. Diethelm is a member, along with Charles O. Porter and Jerry Rust, of the executive <br /> board of the Emerald Waterways Citizens Committee, Inc. <br /> The Emerald Canal is getting closer to reality. Both the Eugene Planning Commission and <br /> City Council have recently supported "daylighting" culverted water at the new federal <br /> http://www.eugeneweekly.com/archive/12_18_03/coverstory.html 1/6/04 <br />