Portland’s Willamette River almost had a sewage-free year. Almost.

An atmospheric river brought heavy rains and minor flooding to the Portland area over the weekend. The deluge overwhelmed the city’s sewage system Sunday, sending contaminated water from eight outfalls into the Willamette River between Ross Island Bridge and Swan Island.

The potentially harmful levels of sewage prompted a city-issued advisory to avoid contact with the river for 48 hours.
The last time Portland experienced such an event was in August 2019. The 16-month stretch between events is the longest since the completion of the Big Pipe — Portland’s billion-dollar overflow containment system — in 2011.

That point wasn’t lost on the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services, which is responsible for the Big Pipe.

Less than two weeks ago, the bureau announced on Twitter that 2020 could be the “first year in modern history with zero sewage overflows” on the Willamette River, asking, “Can we take a 2020 moment to share some good news in the making?”

The Bureau answered its own question in another tweet ten days later. “In a word... no.”