[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 29 (Wednesday, March 16, 1994)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: March 16, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
              PROTECTING PORTLAND'S DRINKING WATER SUPPLY

                                 ______


                             HON. RON WYDEN

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, March 16, 1994

  Mr. WYDEN. Mr. Speaker, protecting the Bull Run watershed--the 
principal source of Portland's drinking water--is critical to preparing 
Oregon for the 21st century.
  The Bull Run watershed now serves more than 20 water districts and 
735,000 people in the Portland metropolitan area. By the year 2050, 
however, it will be the prime source of drinking water for over a 
million people. In future years, demand for this water, fueled by our 
population growth, can subject Oregonians to public health risks. 
Demand for Bull Run water is already starting to outstrip the supply.
  Fortunately, our water is pure today. An independent scientific task 
force commissioner of public utilities, Mike Lindberg and I appointed 
in the mid-1980's said our water is chemically pretty close to 
rainfall. Our water is about as good as it gets.
  Yet even the most modern water treatment system can break down. And 
when these systems fail, the results can be severe illness, even death, 
as was tragically demonstrated by what occurred in Milwaukee, WI, only 
last year.
  With the additional demands from increased population, the day may 
not be far off when Portland has to begin using treated water from the 
Willamette or Columbia River to supply its residents--that is unless we 
take action now to ensure that the available sources of high quality 
drinking water are protected.
  In addition, the independent scientific task force said that 
catastrophic fires in the Bull Run could have devastating impacts on 
our water. Logging activities can increase the risk of catastrophic 
forest fires. In fact, most of the fires in Bull Run since 1958 have 
been caused by logging activities.
  Oregonians should not have to wait for disaster to occur before 
precautions are taken to reduce the risk. You do not play Russian 
roulette with water quality. You take bold action to make sure pure 
water is available for future generations.
  There is another reason taxpayers should want to restrict logging in 
the Bull Run: If water quality becomes degraded by logging, the Federal 
Government will require the city to construct a new treatment/
filtration system. The cost of these facilities, which Portland 
ratepayers would have to absorb, would be about $200 million.
  Twice I have persuaded Congress that because of the quality of 
Portland's water, filtration was not required under the Safe Drinking 
Water Act. The prospect of continued logging in Bull Run would make it 
more likely that filtration would be required by Federal law.
  For these reasons, I am introducing the Bull Run and Little Sandy 
Watershed Protection Act. I am joined in introducing this legislation 
by my friend and Portland colleague, Congresswoman Elizabeth Furse. 
This legislation is truly a collaborative effort not only involving the 
efforts of Representative Furse and myself but also the leadership of 
Commissioner Lindberg, who oversees the Portland Water Bureau and has 
been at the forefront of the city's efforts to protect the Bull Run 
watershed.
  Our legislation establishes the Bull Run watershed Protection Unit, a 
portion of the Mt. Hood National Forest that is permanently protected 
as a drinking water source. Timber activities would be limited in the 
Bull Run Protection Unit to the minimum necessary to construct 
additional water reservoirs or those that are the only effective method 
to protect water quality from catastrophic threat. New water quality 
standards are established to ensure that none of these activities has 
any long-term negative impact on water quality.
  In addition to restricting logging, this legislation also restricts 
human access to the Bull Run and Little Sandy watersheds to persons 
performing activities to protect the forest and water resources. It 
also prohibits smoking and pesticide use, and restricts mining and 
geothermal activities and future hydroelectric development. The 
legislation also requires the Forest Service to develop a special fire 
management plan to address both human and naturally caused fires. 
Finally, the legislation provides mechanisms for monitoring compliance 
and enforcing the provisions of the act, including establishing a 
citizen advisory committee, imposing civil penalties, and allowing 
citizens to bring lawsuits against violators of the act.
  I urge my colleagues to support this important public health and 
resource protection legislation.

                          ____________________