They should set up a bottling plant and sell us the water in PET bottles. At least then they could mark up the product for retail, and then they wouldn't have the pesky EPA inspecting their product.

Unfortunately, the word "sustainable" did not appear in this presentation and all 3 bloggers have been fired.

It's also possible that the aforementioned bloggers are M.I.A., their homes having been flooded by the onslaught of record rainfall.

But then, don't forget to not water your lawn and be stingy with water for your raised growing beds with drip systems (ahem!).

-ob-

On second thought, not using water will cut down on Water Dept. income. Oh no! Another rate increase is sure to be in our future (due to lower water usage).

Randy should raise money by auctioning off the right to slap him silly.

Limit the slaps to two or three good open handed whacks.

To waste water would be like killing the Golden Goose.

Silly? Randy's already been there and moved past that to dunderation. Try irrelevancy. Now THAT's a goal! People would line up for blocks for that. Go by pogostick!

What about an old fashioned 'dunk tank' with Randy and Sam taking turns on the bench.
Now THAT would raise money for the city!

One of the things I've noticed in those goofy pieces of colorful litter from CoP is that the word "intelligence" is omitted, of course.

It'd be interesting to see one of those thingies to send to CoP with words from this blog over the past six months.

Do it Mojo!

Nice - I am sure it is that slick hard-to-decompose paper also.

This is getting annoying. About the only thing getting funded now is pet projects and marketing crap like WEBsites and mailers. Otherwise, I can't see what the heck Sammy's doing that needs a staff of 30.

You know we really need to go beyond encouraging dead brown lawns all over town.

I think we could also save water in our toilets by just going to the bathroom out on the aforementioned lawns. This would also build community, as you could catch up with the neighbor as you both squat out front.

Similarly, wouldn't it be more green to simply let all of our garbage compost out on the street? And let our cars simply die from disuse out by the curb.

And we should really grow and forage for all of our own food. What is more green than that? We could do away with cheap silverware and dishes made in China, just use our hands to commune directly with the soil.

And we waste so much energy. Really, power should be shut off to our homes for most or all of the day, for our own good.

Imagine what a progressive city we would have! Imagine a stroll through the neighborhood with the composting piles of garbage interspersed among the abandoned vehicles, all while waving residents forage for food and defecate on their dead lawns. At night, imagine everyone gathered around their own oil-drum fire out in front of the cold, dark homes.

"Progressive" means progress! We'd be beating off the migrants from San Fransico with a stick!

The rates are going to keep going up and up.

Portland Water Bureau Proposed Rate Increases:
FY 2011-12 - 19%
FY 2012-13 - 18.8%
FY 2013-14 - 19%

In addition to the above proposed water usage charge, the Base Charge will also be increased.

Many citizens and organizations requested a delay in order to give Congress time to work on a Legislative Waiver from the EPA LT2 Rule. Portland City Council would not delay, and voted to move forward with expensive projects. (council then said that they would also work on an exemption, but have seen little evidence of that path)

Leonard last year used an emergency ordinance to move forward with the over a $130 million Powell Butte Storage Tank project in case we wouldn't get an exemption.

It isn’t helping matters that Leonard and PWB and our Mayor and Council are much more focused on financing these projects rather than giving Senator Merkley
the time he needs to work on a Waiver for our community. A Waiver from the EPA LT2 rule would stop our community from being a billion dollars in debt for a public health problem that does not exist.

Since you asked, Steve:

Adams has twenty male staffers in hardhats, shoveling paper money into a giant, cast-iron furnace. The boiler room of the Portland Building is very warm, so naturally all of them are stripped to the waist.

The remainder are bloggers.

"Fireman Randy's wild, non-water-related dreams"

His not so wet dreams you might say.

Thank you Clinamen.

Leonard has now resorted to hiding $millions in new reservoir no-compete bids so Shaff's water engineer buddy won't have to worry if he'll get the job. Did it last week for unneeded Kelley Butte reservoir under Office of Management and Finance. Can't wait for Shaff's nonsense rebuttal.

Brown lawns? What is the point in having one then?

"Legislative Waiver from the EPA LT2 Rule. Portland City Council would not delay, and voted to move forward with expensive projects. (council then said that they would also work on an exemption, but have seen little evidence of that path)"

C'mon, he saw how easy it was to bump water rates using the LT2 excuse. They have done NOTHING besides study and I really don't think they have any plan to do anything besides study.

But hey, considering they get about $100M/yr in water bills and with one waive of the hand can get another $12M like that, I guess for PWB its a no-brainer.

Just for the record, here's probably where they got the idea.

Ironic that we are noted for being so “green and sustainable” but end up being brown because our water rates are too high.

Hypocritical that our Mayor and Council promote “green and sustainable” but end up
on the wrong side, and will not stand up to fight for one of the most green sustainable water systems in our country. Who do they work for?

Look, we need to be alarmed about any talk of any plans to bring in others from the region to decide about our water and water rights. We have enough trouble with our Council of five. Others may decide to blend in Willamette River and Columbia River water with our good Bull Run Water without any say or consequence from the voters.

We also need to be very concerned about debt and the PWB debt. Leonard needs to stop this drive to debt. Will that open the door to privatization? We must fight now to retain our water and water rights. The citizens of Stockton, CA worked six long, hard years to get the ownership of their water back.

Who knows what those who do not appear to have a conscience about what we have to swallow have planned for all of us? More toxic chemicals added to our drinking water, drinks such as coffee or orange juice with the added chemicals and the polluted river water, is that OK with this community?

Steve:C'mon, he saw how easy it was to bump water rates using the LT2 excuse. They have done NOTHING besides study and I really don't think they have any plan to do anything besides study.

Agree, much money has been spent on studies.
It sure does look like the LT2 has been handy as an excuse for their plans.

However, take a drive up to Powell Butte and you will see the $130 million project they have started and are working on now.

Tomorrow, at City Council Leonard is putting up 8 – 9 water bureau properties as surplus to be sold. They are planning to decommission several tanks.

Thanks for the reminder Jack...I thought it looked familiar. One way to spend time without too much effort and get paid for the same idea. Gotta love CoP.

Leonard has put us on track to realize the 2000 Infrastructure Master Plan that would include drinking Willamette River water for us. It all started with a new reservoir at Powell Butte. Sound familiar?

It continues with heavy PWB debt. Again, sound familiar? Giving away our pure dinking water system to bond holders is the outcome. We will lose our voice in making decisions. It can all be done without a vote or approval of the public. They will use an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA) in the process.

All of this for covered reservoirs and a treament plant we do not need,and a microorganism problem that does not exist.

Great distraction while we get hosed.

Just for the record, here's probably where they got the idea.

Yeah, looks like the work of the same graphic designer. Looks like he/she/it has a pretty good gig with all these City jobs.

There are online computer programs that generate these things.

Here's one of this blog generated by a site called wordle.net:

Are you sure that thing's working? I don't see "streetcar" anywhere . . . .

Alrighty! Expect a $3 million dollar no-bid CoP subsidy now. It'll be in an envelope at the front desk at City Hall. The password is: "Neil sent me."

I don't see "streetcar" anywhere . . . .

That particular one just picks up what's in the blog's current RSS feed. It would be really interesting to see one with the top words from this blog all-time. But that would be about 12,000 posts and 120,000 comments to wade through. Could tax the server.

Aw, what's another tax in Portland anyway, Jack?

As I recall reading, the PWB gets 5% of whatever bond it receives... $72 Million bond went out in ...hummmm $3,600,000.00

OFFICIAL STATEMENT OF THE CITY OF PORTLAND RELATED TO $72 MILLION WATER BOND: http://www.portlandonline.com/omf/index.cfm?c=52005&a=2840

Noted below are a few of the important facts contained in the document:

LT2 and LT2 COSTS:

Page 23 of the bond statement:

"First, the rule requires that by April 1, 2014, the City provide additional treatment to its Bull Run supply to either remove or inactivate Cryptosporidium."

"Second, the rule would require changes to how open finished drinking water reservoirs are utilized, managed and/or operated. The rule requires that water systems with uncovered finished water reservoirs, like those at Mt. Tabor and Washington Parks, either cover the reservoirs or provide treatment at the outlets of the reservoirs to inactivate Cryptosporidium, Giardia and other viruses."

Don't we already do this.... treat at the outlets?

I made my own word thingie at the site. Cathartic, yet depressing to see what really flowed out when I pictured the city and free associated. Lies came out really big, I guess because it kept coming to mind when I thought about the one thing local government has heaped on us. I suppose to them, we are truly mushrooms, meant to be kept in the dark and, well you know the rest.

I won't waste time or Jack's bandwidth showing it off, but I recommend trying it out.

Class Clown...they have never found the organism LT2 was originally based on, in the open reservoirs. More arbitrary EPA baloney.

The council won’t stand up for our water. The citizens need to step up to say No to this nonsense. We are the ones who will be paying for this EPA LT2 Rule over a billion dollars in debt we will have - for a health problem that does not exist. I can only imagine “someone” will be doing their darndest to find that cyrptosporidium even if they have to apply a flawed process.

This rule was based on politics, not science and our city is “going along” with that? Hundreds of EPA scientists are saying that they were politically interfered with.

http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2008/04/epa_scientists_complain_about.php

New York Times article about how EPA declines to intervene in polluted water.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/13/us/13water.html

Who wants this so badly at our expense and at the expense of the health of our community?

snards:At night, imagine everyone gathered around their own oil-drum fire out in front of the cold, dark homes.

A good read you put out today on imagining a progressive city!

Perhaps a LINKed page of references.

Privatization
---------
Turning community water over to multinational corporations such as Bechtel is being successfully opposed throughout the world. But the battle rages on, and is not always won by the people who feel that access to water should be a basic human right, not a product to be sold.

Rainwater Harvesting
------------
Water delivered directly to your home at no charge. You just have to catch it, clean it and store it. Assuming you have enough rainfall in your area, it's a way to become self-sufficient.

"If the wars of this century were fought over oil, the wars of the next century will be fought over water." ~ Ismail Serageldin, Vice-President, World Bank, 1995

Is no beside me curious as to why the word "loaded" appears in (the upper left corner of) the Water Bureau Wordle?

Or oil in water.

For PWB's loaded words, I suppose, Roger. Like Amend, a couple of inches over to the right. Scary.

Hey -- leave our good Bull Run water alone you corporate monkeymen! And forget that cryptosporidia boogeyman you try and parade around here, EPA. Do something about all of the hormones, pharmaceuticals, and other crazy contaminants like nanomaterials, which pose real threats to people's drinking water -- whose intake sources are surface waters where "treated" sewage is discharged -- like the Willamette River, and elsewhere all over the U.S.

No cryptosporidium found in Bull Run
POSTED: Tuesday, February 9, 2010 at 02:57 PM PT
BY: Justin Carinci
http://djcoregon.com/news/2010/02/09/no-cryptosporidium-found-in-bull-run-bldgc/
[note comments]

Fate, Transport, and Toxicity of Nanomaterials in Drinking Water
http://www.nsti.org/Nanotech2007/showabstract.html?absno=990

For drinking water geeks:

Long Term 2 Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule Toolbox Guidance Manual Review Draft (June 2009)
nepis.epa.gov/Exe/ZyPURL.cgi?Dockey=P10045O1.txt

mojo,
Thanks for your input and links.
Our Bull Run Water System which includes the reservoirs is a gift from the efforts of past generations.

We are in unpredictable economic times and have this predictable sustainable water system that will offer the stability that our community needs.

Any money spent needs to be spent on infrastructure to preserve this system that has served us well for over 100 years.

It looks like the movement afoot is to have us drink what I call "corporate designed water" filled with chemicals and our water bills will be doubled so that corporations can make still more money on corporate designed water systems.

Here's how it goes, folks:

Utility: We're facing a shortage of resource (power, gas, water, other...) so we're promoting conservation. You can save money and the environment by conserving.

Public starts conservation effort, use declines.

Utility: All of this conservation is affecting our revenues, so we must raise rates to continue our great service, but keep conserving, even though you are paying more and getting less.

Rates increase. Utility bills increase so that revenue increases while use declines, increasing profit margin to pay all those public salaries and pensions and have enough left over to fund hare-brained city hall schemes.

Lather. Rinse. Repeat.