Craziest government decision ever?

RDL2004

Just go to Google and search:

drain 38 million gallons

Then pick the link of your choice.
Absolutely nuts.

Heater.

I do believe the world has gone mad.

People tell me it's because I'm an old guy and I don't understand anything in the modern world.

Which might well be true.

On the other hand the evidence supporting my observation is overwhelming. Like this story.

Such stories keep coming everyday.

msrobots

Oh.

this shows it again . The world has gone nuts.

wow

Mike

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

This is the first time I've heard of already-treated water being stored in an open reservoir for direct distribution. The article did say that they're converting to underground storage.

-Phil

mindrobots

They do clean it twice a year!!

I'm sure no birds fly over it, no critters come to drink from it, etc......

Assuming an average bladder capacity of 16 ounces (and he had good aim), it's like .003mg/l which is below the levels for many of the carcinogenic contaminants the EPA monitors.

Arsenic - 0.010
Cadmium - 0.005
Carbon Tetrachloride - 0.005
Cyanide - 0.2

Electrodude

(200mL urine)/((38000000gal water)*(3785mL/gal)) = 0.00000000139053048738 = 1.3 parts urine per billion parts water. There are 100 times more toxic disinfectant byproducts than urine in Portland's water supply according to this pdf. There's as much arsenic in their water as urine.

RDL2004

I'm not sure they are entirely correct in calling it a reservoir. We have a reservoir over in Jackson, but it's basically a huge lake. People boat on it, fish swim in it, there are turtles, ducks, etc. This seems to be more like a big holding tank.

This is the first time I've heard of already-treated water being stored in an open reservoir for direct distribution.

I was also surprised when I read that.

There was at least one report that small animals had fallen in and drowned there without them deciding to drain it. Birds can obviously fly overhead and do what birds like to do. I would imagine that duck and geese actually land on the water at times. Apparently they just pump it directly into the pipes with no further treatment.

Kinda makes you think doesn't it?

User Name

But it's Portland. And it's only April. Huge quantities of excess water goes a-wasting, anyway, all day, every day.

The artesian well that supplies the subdivision where we live (in the summer) supplies more water than we could ever use. The overflow runs continuously into a nearby creek, then a river, then the Columbia river, then the Pacific ocean. The paltry amount we use makes no difference. Besides, after natural bioremediation it ends up in the same place, anyway.

erco

38 million gallons? Bird poop? Pishaw.

Nothing is worse than San Diego county's "water treatment" facility: the Pacific Ocean. Every day they pump 180 million gallons of barely-treated sewage 4.5 miles offshore and hope the ocean currents carry it all away. Yuck! And yes, every so often the "poop pipe" breaks somewhere and they have to close beaches as the sewage washes ashore. They don't show THAT in the travel brochures!

http://www.sandiego.gov/mwwd/facilities/ptloma/ptoutfall.shtml

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

One Seattle TV news program carried the security cam video (redacted somewhat) of the incident, along with higher-quality video of the reservoir. I can only suggest, if you want to prevent anyone under 50 from causing such a "problem," you need to move the fence back a bit further.

-Phil

Mickster

Talk about taking the p***!

ElectricAye

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) wrote: »

...if you want to prevent anyone under 50 from causing such a "problem," you need to move the fence back a bit further. ...

Ut oh. Now you've done it. You've thrown down the gauntlet to each and every AARP member who's got something to prove.

Ron Czapala

Here is another brilliant government idea - Taxing solar energy

http://news.yahoo.com/worlds-dumbest-idea-taxing-solar-energy-111300623.html

In a setback for the renewable energy movement, the state House in Oklahoma this week passed a bill that would levy a new fee on those who generate their own energy through solar equipment or wind turbines on their property. The measure, which sailed to passage on a near unanimous vote after no debate, is likely to be signed into law by Republican Gov. Mary Fallin.

ElectricAye

Ron Czapala wrote: »

Here is another brilliant government idea - Taxing solar energy...

Yeah, but that's Oklahoma for ya. It's wall-to-wall oil people there.

There they do what that Oregon teen did into their own water supply but in Oklahoma they are happy to drink it. They just call it fracking, not p--ing.