Posted on Apr 29, 2023
Tainted, brown drinking water grips a Southern Oregon town
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Janel Harlan remembers drinking water from the hose as a child in Lakeview. Back then, the water looked clean, something she rarely thought about.
But when Harlan returned to her Southern Oregon hometown as an adult, she was stunned by what she saw coming out of her faucet.
“It was like dark, sludgy Coca Cola,” Harlan said. “It was disgusting.”
For Lakeview’s 2,500 residents, this smelly brown drinking water has become the norm — at least, for now. Many avoid wearing white clothes, because they get stained in the washing machine. Some residents reported using baby wipes to bathe instead of showering. When the water gets particularly brown, the town’s lone grocery store runs low on bottled water.
Other people have gallons of spring water shipped to them, or pay for expensive home filtration systems.
Lakeview’s leaders are sounding the alarm, hoping state and federal lawmakers can step in to provide the tens of millions of dollars needed to fix the crisis. But, that kind of funding is unlikely, as Oregon grapples with billions of dollars’ worth of backlogged water infrastructure projects statewide.
But when Harlan returned to her Southern Oregon hometown as an adult, she was stunned by what she saw coming out of her faucet.
“It was like dark, sludgy Coca Cola,” Harlan said. “It was disgusting.”
For Lakeview’s 2,500 residents, this smelly brown drinking water has become the norm — at least, for now. Many avoid wearing white clothes, because they get stained in the washing machine. Some residents reported using baby wipes to bathe instead of showering. When the water gets particularly brown, the town’s lone grocery store runs low on bottled water.
Other people have gallons of spring water shipped to them, or pay for expensive home filtration systems.
Lakeview’s leaders are sounding the alarm, hoping state and federal lawmakers can step in to provide the tens of millions of dollars needed to fix the crisis. But, that kind of funding is unlikely, as Oregon grapples with billions of dollars’ worth of backlogged water infrastructure projects statewide.
Tainted, brown drinking water grips a Southern Oregon town
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WaterState of Oregon
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."‘Borrowed time’
The color of Lakeview’s water can range from a light beige to a dark black, sometimes resembling a cup of coffee.
Shelley Weber, a hairdresser who’s lived in Lakeview her whole life, said she runs the water through a filter to avoid the color.
“It’s never good when I’m shampooing somebody’s blonde or white hair and the water looks like that,” Weber said.
The causes of the water’s dark tinge are both natural and manmade. The geology around Lakeview is rich in manganese and iron, natural elements found in the town’s groundwater supply. When these elements combine with chlorine during the treatment process, it activates rust in the water and gives it that brown color, according to city water managers.
This process also corrodes the pipes. Over time, the pipes become so worn down that they dirty the water further, continuing a vicious cycle that has worsened the problems over time. Leaks and breakages are increasingly common, threatening the stability of Lakeview’s entire system.
“We repair leaks almost every day,” said Lakeview Town Manager Michele Parry.
The rural community doesn’t have a way to finance major infrastructure projects.
“We’re on borrowed time,” Parry said. “We don’t have the capabilities like our urban counterparts, with population, with more taxes.”
Parry said the upkeep of the pipes has been neglected for a long time. She points at multiple photos of pipes in various states of decay.
“That’s not a pipe — that is danger,” she said.
In 2021, the Oregon Legislature approved $15 million for Lakeview to build a new water treatment plant, stemming from American Relief Plan dollars the state received. City leaders are now pressing lawmakers for an additional $30 million to begin overhauling the pipes."...
..."‘Borrowed time’
The color of Lakeview’s water can range from a light beige to a dark black, sometimes resembling a cup of coffee.
Shelley Weber, a hairdresser who’s lived in Lakeview her whole life, said she runs the water through a filter to avoid the color.
“It’s never good when I’m shampooing somebody’s blonde or white hair and the water looks like that,” Weber said.
The causes of the water’s dark tinge are both natural and manmade. The geology around Lakeview is rich in manganese and iron, natural elements found in the town’s groundwater supply. When these elements combine with chlorine during the treatment process, it activates rust in the water and gives it that brown color, according to city water managers.
This process also corrodes the pipes. Over time, the pipes become so worn down that they dirty the water further, continuing a vicious cycle that has worsened the problems over time. Leaks and breakages are increasingly common, threatening the stability of Lakeview’s entire system.
“We repair leaks almost every day,” said Lakeview Town Manager Michele Parry.
The rural community doesn’t have a way to finance major infrastructure projects.
“We’re on borrowed time,” Parry said. “We don’t have the capabilities like our urban counterparts, with population, with more taxes.”
Parry said the upkeep of the pipes has been neglected for a long time. She points at multiple photos of pipes in various states of decay.
“That’s not a pipe — that is danger,” she said.
In 2021, the Oregon Legislature approved $15 million for Lakeview to build a new water treatment plant, stemming from American Relief Plan dollars the state received. City leaders are now pressing lawmakers for an additional $30 million to begin overhauling the pipes."...
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