Heavy rain in the Portland metro area briefly caused sewage to flow into the Willamette River early Sunday morning.
The sewage spilled into the river from a maintenance hole at North Burlington Avenue and North Edison Street beginning at around 1:30 a.m., and stopped at 1:40 a.m. Sunday, according to the Bureau of Environmental Services.
The volume of the overflow isn’t known at this time. However, people are advised to avoid contact with the Willamette River in the area of the overflow for at least 48 hours because of the possibility of increased bacteria and other contaminants in the water, the bureau said.
The bureau said the overflow consisted of about 80 percent stormwater and 20 percent sewage. Combined sewer overflows happen rarely, according to the bureau, which said the last such event happened in January.
The Big Pipe project, a 20-year, $1.4 billion program that was completed in 2011, has helped reduce the number of combined sewer overflows into the Willamette River by 94 percent, and cut the number of such overflows to the Columbia Slough by 99 percent, the bureau said.
Prior to the completion of the Big Pipe project, combined sewer overflows into the Willamette River happened an average of 50 times a year. The current rate is for overflows, which may happen during times of snowfall or heavy rains, to occur an average of four times per winter season, and once every three summers, the bureau said.
-- Kristi Turnquist
kturnquist@oregonian.com 503-221-8227 @Kristiturnquist
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