What's all the fuss about? It's just a toilet, right? Well, not quite... it's a little more than your basic toitie.

 

Find out more about this specially designed public toilet by downloading the official brochure explaining the Loo in detail.

 

Find out more about:

• Long-term affordability
• Design and how illicit/criminal activity was considered in the designing process
• Accessibility
• Sustainbility features
• Local flair

And don't forget to mark your calendar with the date of the First Flush Grand Opening Event: 12/8.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

To put a little rhythm into the Water Bureau this holiday season, the elves have come up with a new contest: The Water Bureau Holiday Song Contest!

 

The contest is open to to all Water Bureau employees and the general public.

Rules:

• Entries must be written by entrant.
• All entries must be original lyrics. Music can be original or "sung to the tune of" an existing holiday song.
• Lyrics must be along the theme of the winter holiday season and the Portland Water Bureau (elements of the water system, working at the Water Bureau, etc.)
• Entries will be judged for lyrics, melody, composition, and originality.
• Entrant does not need to perform the song to enter.
• Entrants may submit more than one entry

Deadline:

December 15th, 5pm

Prize:

 

All entries will be posted on the Water Blog and the winner will be selected by popular vote. The winner will receive lunch with Commissioner Randy Leonard and will receive a handsome framed certificate.

To Enter:

Submit your song lyrics to Sarah Bott via e-mail at sbott@water.ci.portland.or.us

 

Sarah Bott

Senior Community Outreach

Dutch inventor Pieter Hoff has figured out how to create life where it once was not possible. Hoff's award winning invention, the WaterBoxx, makes tree life a realistic possibility in large desert and rocky areas

where tree growth has generally been limited if all but impossible due to extremely arid and/or harsh growing conditions.

 

Hoff's WaterBoxx encourages tree growth under these harsh conditions, providing them with sufficient water to germinate. The WaterBoxx is described as "a plastic, rectangular bucket, with a hole in the center, allowing the tree to be planted in the soil. The... top catches water from condensation at night. Together with the rainwater from rare showers, it is distributed in small doses to the tree inside. Additionally the WaterBoxx prevents water in the top soil layers from evaporating and protects the roots against sun, wind, weeds or rodents. After a year the tree is strong enough to grow by itself and the WaterBoxx can be removed."

 

Hoff had a 90 percent success rate with experiments performed in the Moroccan Sahara desert. 90 percent of trees planted without the WaterBoxx were dead after a few months, despite being watered every week.

 

This invention has major implications for the future of our environment. Hoff says, "If we can reforest 2 billion hectares, the trees consume more CO2 than men produces and the whole CO2 problem will be solved."

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

 

 

 

When:  12/08/2008

Time:   11:00 AM
Where: NW 5th & Glisan

The city's first Portland Loo will be unveiled on 12/8/2008,

as Commissioner Randy Leonard takes the first flush!

 

The Portland Loo is the brainchild of Commissioner Leonard who saw a growing global problem and sought out a novel, local solution. His philosophy is, "When you gotta go, you gotta go."

 

Commissioner Leonard recognizes that all humans are entitled to a little dignity when taking care of such private business.

 

The Loos are:

 

Lightweight:

The unit is composed of a minimal materials. Utilizing stainless steel wall panels mounted to a slim profile structure means that the Portland Loo weighs a fraction of a typical restroom and can be delivered on site as a complete enclosure.

 

Open:

Louvers at the top and bottom of the wall create an interior environment that offers complete user privacy, while remaining as connected with the outside as possible. The lower louvers are angled to provide law enforcement the opportunity to observe the number of users within the unit without compromising user privacy. The unit's hand-washing station is mounted on the exterior to promote shorter use times and to serve the general pedestrian population.

 

Functional:

The entire unit can be off-grid and lit entirely by solar-powered LED fixtures. Or the unit can be pre-wired for 115 volt AC power. At night, a gentle light washes the exterior until it the unit is occupied, at which time interior lights activate and the exterior lights dim, announcing that said Loo is occupado! All of the cleaning and maintenance implements, as well as electrical components and solar batteries, are housed in the cabinet at the rear of the unit.

 

The Loos will be maintained by Central City Concern. They were designed and fabricated locally.

 

For more information call Anna DiBenedetto in Commissioner Leonard's office at (503) 823-3001 or send her an e-mail at adibenedetto@ci.portland.or.us.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

 

Which country has the largest proportion of bottled water drinkers? According to a recent FoodBev newsletter, Germany wins that prize with a whopping 88.2 percent of the adult population now drinking bottled water.

 

Overall, bottled water now accounts for 38 percent of the global beverage market. Europe and the United States dominate more than 50 percent of the global bottled water market.

 

"The world bottled water market is expected to reach $65.9 billion by 2012, stimulated by rising population, consumer spending patterns, lifestyle trends and growing levels of health consciousness, among others."

 

Honestly, I am surprised to read this. We have talked a lot about recent backlashes against bottled water,  at least in our country. I'm surprised that the bottled water industry is so optimistic.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

This week, the Japanese Otsuka Beverage Co. Ltd. recalled 8 million bottles of Crystal Geyser mineral water imported from the United States. The recall was issued after consumers complained of a strange smell, which they likened to insecticide and medicines. The company received 75 complaints during the month of October.

 

A company spokesman said the firm did not find any abnormalities in the water, but the plastic bottles may have absorbed smells they were exposed to during storage.

 

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

It may not exactly be picnic weather lately - if it's not raining it's cold and/or windy - but a little fresh air is always good for you!

 

Come visit one of the Water Bureau's newest "babies," Halsey HydroPark, which is located at the corner of 148th and NE Halsey in the Wilkes neighborhood.

 

Improvements to the site include new park benches, a new picnic table, dog station and signage. The grounds have also been cleaned up to open up the park's visibility, and new wooden signs have been posted at the entrances. The 2 1/2 acre site includes a large non-elevated water tank, and a large sloping lawn great for throwing a Frisbee.

 

For more information on Portland's HydroParks visit www.portlandonline/water/hydroparks.

 

Darcy Cronin

Facilities Services Specialist

Post-election, I ran a blog about President-elect Obama's stance on water issues. Earth News ran an article yesterday discussing Obama's stance on water issues in more detail than the information I was able to provide in my last posting on this subject.

 

In short:

• Obama promised during his campaign to increase federal funding for water infrastructure, which has declined 70 percent over the last two decades.
• As recent as last week, Obama said that a $60 billion to $100 billion economic stimulus package aimed at promoting economic recovery through the funding of infrastructure projects would be a top priority following his inauguration
• Obama previously promised to assure that drinking water standards are updated to address emerging discoveries of threat to public health
• Obama's administration will likely pay attention to the effect of climate change on water supplies.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

The Water Bureau temporarily turned off the Bull Run water supply system this morning due to increased turbidity in the watershed. The bureau activated groundwater wells in the Columbia South Shore Well Field to temporarily serve water to Portland.

 

Recent heavy rains and increased stream flows in the Bull Run watershed have contributed to this rapid increase in turbidity. Turbidity is a measurement of the cloudiness of (drinking) water by suspended particles.

 

Portland is one of six large drinking water systems in the country that does not filter its water supply. The city is able to comply with federal drinking water regulations by continuously meeting a set of filtration avoidance criteria. Portland has been able to consistently meet these criteria, but it occasionally has to shut down the Bull Run system and operate from its backup groundwater supply when storms and other natural disturbances in the Bull Run reservoirs increase the turbidity. The Surface Water Treatment Rule requires that the city not serve drinking water exceeding a turbidity level of 5 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU).

 

"Stream levels rose rapidly overnight resulting in a spike in turbidity at Headworks (treatment facility). Although stream levels have crested, turbidity levels continued to rise through the morning. We are taking this proactive step to ensure that we continue to serve the high quality water that we strive to provide." said Water Bureau Administrator David Shaff. "Activating the Well Field allows us to continue providing extremely high quality drinking water to our customers despite turbid conditions in the watershed."

 

The Columbia South Shore Well Field is a high quality water supply which meets or surpasses all federal and state drinking water regulations. The Water Bureau will run the Well Field as long as weather conditions and water quality dictate. 

 

 

I'm not going to lie -- while I can play "morose poet" with the best of them, this weather stinks. It's dark early. It's rainy and windy and nasty, OH MY!

 

But that only means one thing to us Portlanders -- winter is on the way. It may be an unseasonal 60 degrees-ish today, but give it a couple weeks and I'll bet that it won't feel quite so springish outside. My mom came out a couple Turkey Day's ago and it snowed! She was astonished! (So was I!)

 

So, what can you do to prepare your home for the inevitable season o'freeze? My guess is that you'll want to protect your indoor plumbing from freezing.

 

Here are some easy tips:

• Insulate pipes in heated areas such as a crawl space, attic, garage or basement
• If below freezing weather is anticipated, open cupboard doors in kitchen and bathrooms -- this allows pipes to get more heat from inside your home
• If you leave home for several days during freezing season, put your furnance on a low setting - this may not completely prevent freezing pipes, but it can help
• Let a slight stream of water run when temperature drops below freezing - faucets farthest from the street should be the ones left running -- use cold water to avoid gas or electric heating charges

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

Not only is the country of Iraq ravished by war, but they are also facing an internal war of sorts - a major drinking water crisis. In short, Iraqis are running low on clean drinking water.

 

The dirty water is both a direct and an indirect result of the devastation plaguing the war-stricken country. For instance, a southern Baghdad sewage plant was destroyed several years ago, causing sewer water to overflow into open drinking water systems and waterways throughout the area. It has still not been repaired because there is little money or resources to fix places like this sewage plant.

 

Additionally, an outbreak of cholera, (a waterborne illness), in northern Iraq last year killed 14 people. Officials fear an outbreak of this sort in a more densely populated area, (like Baghdad), where it could end up devastating a larger population.

 

In Baghdad, at least, both U.S. and Iraqi officials continue to insist that the tap water is of at least fairly good quality because it comes from less polluted areas north of the city. However, some residents report that they can actually smell their tap water; and it doesn't smell pretty. U.S. service members are told that tap water is only for bathing.

 

The World Bank estimated that it would take $14.4 billion to rebuild the Iraqi public works and water system.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

I can hardly hold it -- the excitement I feel in letting you know that the Portland Loos will make their much awaited debut early this December.

 

What is a Portland Loo, you ask? Well, for those of you who haven't been paying attention, a Portland Loo is Portland's newest form of relief -- a place to go when you gotta go. No longer will you have to hold it until you get home because conveniently located on the street corner will be on oasis to Portland's bladder stretched coffee fiends -- a bathroom.

 

You might also have heard them referred to as Leonard's Loos in honor of Commissioner Randy Leonard who has so delicately taken these toities from conception to fruition. In fact, our beloved commissioner is such a strong advocate of this project, that the Portland Tribune started a contest to find the best nickname for such a fearless warrior of bathroom rights.

 

So far, they've received these responses:

• Fearless Fecal-Freedom Fighter
• Colonel of the Urinal (Dale Oishi)
• Lord of the Latrine
• Prince of the Privy
• Commode Crusader

Rumor has it Commissioner Leonard will take the first plunge... no pun intended, of course.

 

For more information check out www.portlandonline.com/water/loo.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

 

On its Web site, Water 1st International announced a new partnership with Northwest Travel Professionals, a Portland-based non-profit organization of travel industry professionals.

 

NWTP President Laura Miller is quoted as saying,

 

"Northwest Travel Professionals has chosen to support Water 1st because although we are a regional organization (Portland-based) and we do support a couple of local charities, we also wanted to reach out to do something for those less fortunate globally. We have donated a sum of money at the end of our fiscal year to Water 1st, support and help promote Water 1st events, and offer presentations to our club. We are proud to support such a deserving organization and we know that our donations, however small, go a long ways towards providing life's most basic necessity."

 

It's always good to see local organizations getting involved in the global water crisis - especially organizations based in a city where water is so seemingly abundant.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

All that talk about drought in Georgia seems to have dried up according to a recent article in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. No pun intended, of course. Newspaper headlines and media coverage of the drought have all but been lost in the melee that has become the economy and vibrant political fodder.

 

Said drought, in its fourth year now, rages on, in spite of the media's inattention. While North Georgians used 18 percent less water in September 2008 than they did in September 2007, water levels in Lake Lanier, Georgia's main water source, continue to fall. Currently, the lake is at 18 feet below full pool, a dangerous level according to state climatologists.

 

In a telling discussion with Jack Dozier, executive director of the Georgia Association of Water Professionals, Dozier said, "We're in the throes of a drought that's never been seen in history. And it's going to get worse before it gets better."

 

Georgia's water conservation efforts have been ramped up and so have blame game wars with neighboring states. Metro Atlanta officials blame Florida and Alabama for their water woes. Both states also pull water from Lake Lanier. 

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

 

 

"Liquid Assets, the Story of Our Water Infrastructure" is scheduled to air on Oregon Public Television on Monday, November 10th at 8 a.m.

 

Ummm... might want to set the ole' DVR/TEVO on that one.

 

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer