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<br /> i <br /> r <br /> / /i J /!tom- ~/i 1 /i J/~ Tl~~i <br /> ~ I I r <br /> v/ <br /> ' Public Works <br /> Administration <br /> City of Eugene <br /> JUNE 30, 1995 858 Pearl Street <br /> Eugene, OR 97401 <br /> CONTACT: J es Ollerenshaw, Technical Services Manager, 984-8604 (503) 687-5262 <br /> From Public I ormation Section, 687-5523 <br /> FOR IMIYIED TE RELEASE <br /> SEW GE IN WILLAMETTE RIVER PROMPTS TEMPORARY POSTING <br /> A disc rge of sanitary sewage into the Willamette River Friday afternoon prompted the City <br /> of Eugene to p st signs asking people to avoid swimming or wading in or drinking water from the <br /> river for a dis nce of several hundred yards downstream from the Greenway bicycle bridge. <br /> An est' ated 100 to 300 gallons of sewage was discharged into the Willamette River from a <br /> stormwater pip that drains directly to the river just above the bike bridge to Valley River Center. <br /> The discharge as reported to the Eugene Public Works Department at approximately 1 p.m. Staff <br /> from the depa ment's Wastewater Division has not been able to determine the source of the sewage. <br /> Althou h there may be a temporary risk to public health because of the bacteria which may be <br /> present in the ewage, the discharge has been halted and pollutants should quickly disperse in the <br /> river. The d' charge should not harm fish or wildlife. The posted health warning signs are expected <br /> to be remove on Saturday. <br /> Euge 's stormwater system was separated from the sanitary system in the mid-1960s. The <br /> sanitary syste flows to the Eugene/Springfield Pollution Control Facility in north Eugene, where <br /> sanitary writ are treated before being released to the Willamette River. Stormwater is not treated <br /> and flows dir ctly into creeks, wetlands, and rivers. <br /> <br />