Project to stop algal blooms on Willamette River seeks $1 million from Legislature
Just about every summer in recent years, a stretch of the Willamette River south of downtown Portland at Ross Island turns green from a thick layer of toxin-producing algae that grows rapidly in the hot and stagnant waters of the Ross Island Lagoon.As the thick algal blooms are carried out by winds and tides to the mainstem of the river, it can become, for days on end, unhealthy for humans, pets and aquatic life.There’s an easy fix that’s been years in the making, according to Willie Levenson, founder of the Portland-based nonprofit Human Access Project. Standing in the way is the last $1 million he and river engineers at Oregon State University need to finish designing it. House Bill 3314, sponsored by state Reps. Rob Nosse and Mark Gamba, Democrats from Portland and Milwuakie, would direct about $1 million to Oregon State University to finish designing a channel that would cut through Ross Island.The channel would restore the river’s natural flow through what were multiple islands a century ago and flush out harmful cyanobacteria and algae forming in the lagoon. The bill was scheduled to have its first public hearing Wednesday at the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water. “This is a small investment that will solve a significant problem,” Levenson said.The Human Access Project, which aims to get people in closer contact with the river, has been working with Oregon State University scientists to collect data and determine solutions for six years.Levenson spent about two years fundraising about $500,000 through grants from nonprofits and local tribal governments, enough for the first 30% of the planning process. The rest of the plan hinges on getting money from the Legislature. “We’re concerned that without the money to finish the planning soon, the momentum to do this will stall out,” Levenson said.Ross Island used to be one of a complex of four islands. In the 1920s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved the earth on two of the islands around to create an embankment connecting them to divert water and make a deeper shipping channel in the river, as well as to make it more accessible to industry. The two islands combined created the U-shaped Ross Island, but the new embankment stopped the natural flow of the river between the islands and the lagoon became a “140-acre pond inside a river,” according to Levenson.In 1926, the Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. established itself on the island and started excavating millions of tons of gravel from the river to make cement, creating a large hole in the river until 2001. The combination of the gravel excavation, the man-made lagoon around it, hot summers and pollution from nearby cities has led to the perfect conditions for cyanobacteria and algal blooms to grow in the area.By cutting through the embankment that the Army Corps built in 1926 and letting the river flow between the islands again, the bacteria and algae will be flushed out of the area, Oregon State scientists found.Once planning is finished in the next two years, Levenson said he and Oregon State will seek up to $8 million to carry it out. He said there are a few different funding streams they’ll pursue, including potentially asking the Legislature to foot some of the bill.The Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. though no longer operational, is under orders from the Department of State Lands to undertake reclamation work to refill the hole the company left in the river from decades of excavation. As part of that, it’s possible the company could offer to pay for some of the channeling work Randall Steed, general manager of the company, did not respond to a call or email requesting comment. Officials in charge of the billion-dollar Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, made up of revenue from a 1% tax on large retail businesses in the city, declined to fund project planning and implementation because it was not reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to Levenson. Annual algal blooms are not just an environmental and public health issue, he said, but an economic issue that will drive people, events and businesses away from Portland in the summer. “If the Willamette keeps turning green every summer, it will be an anchor around the neck of downtown’s recovery,” Levenson said. -- Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital ChronicleThe Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.
The money would go to Oregon State University to finish designing a channel that would cut through Ross Island. Organizers would need another $8 million to carry out the project.
Just about every summer in recent years, a stretch of the Willamette River south of downtown Portland at Ross Island turns green from a thick layer of toxin-producing algae that grows rapidly in the hot and stagnant waters of the Ross Island Lagoon.
As the thick algal blooms are carried out by winds and tides to the mainstem of the river, it can become, for days on end, unhealthy for humans, pets and aquatic life.
There’s an easy fix that’s been years in the making, according to Willie Levenson, founder of the Portland-based nonprofit Human Access Project. Standing in the way is the last $1 million he and river engineers at Oregon State University need to finish designing it.
House Bill 3314, sponsored by state Reps. Rob Nosse and Mark Gamba, Democrats from Portland and Milwuakie, would direct about $1 million to Oregon State University to finish designing a channel that would cut through Ross Island.
The channel would restore the river’s natural flow through what were multiple islands a century ago and flush out harmful cyanobacteria and algae forming in the lagoon. The bill was scheduled to have its first public hearing Wednesday at the House Committee on Agriculture, Land Use, Natural Resources and Water.
“This is a small investment that will solve a significant problem,” Levenson said.
The Human Access Project, which aims to get people in closer contact with the river, has been working with Oregon State University scientists to collect data and determine solutions for six years.
Levenson spent about two years fundraising about $500,000 through grants from nonprofits and local tribal governments, enough for the first 30% of the planning process. The rest of the plan hinges on getting money from the Legislature.
“We’re concerned that without the money to finish the planning soon, the momentum to do this will stall out,” Levenson said.
Ross Island used to be one of a complex of four islands. In the 1920s, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers moved the earth on two of the islands around to create an embankment connecting them to divert water and make a deeper shipping channel in the river, as well as to make it more accessible to industry.
The two islands combined created the U-shaped Ross Island, but the new embankment stopped the natural flow of the river between the islands and the lagoon became a “140-acre pond inside a river,” according to Levenson.
In 1926, the Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. established itself on the island and started excavating millions of tons of gravel from the river to make cement, creating a large hole in the river until 2001.
The combination of the gravel excavation, the man-made lagoon around it, hot summers and pollution from nearby cities has led to the perfect conditions for cyanobacteria and algal blooms to grow in the area.
By cutting through the embankment that the Army Corps built in 1926 and letting the river flow between the islands again, the bacteria and algae will be flushed out of the area, Oregon State scientists found.
Once planning is finished in the next two years, Levenson said he and Oregon State will seek up to $8 million to carry it out. He said there are a few different funding streams they’ll pursue, including potentially asking the Legislature to foot some of the bill.
The Ross Island Sand and Gravel Co. though no longer operational, is under orders from the Department of State Lands to undertake reclamation work to refill the hole the company left in the river from decades of excavation.
As part of that, it’s possible the company could offer to pay for some of the channeling work Randall Steed, general manager of the company, did not respond to a call or email requesting comment.
Officials in charge of the billion-dollar Portland Clean Energy Community Benefits Fund, made up of revenue from a 1% tax on large retail businesses in the city, declined to fund project planning and implementation because it was not reducing carbon dioxide emissions, according to Levenson.
Annual algal blooms are not just an environmental and public health issue, he said, but an economic issue that will drive people, events and businesses away from Portland in the summer.
“If the Willamette keeps turning green every summer, it will be an anchor around the neck of downtown’s recovery,” Levenson said.
-- Alex Baumhardt, Oregon Capital Chronicle
The Oregon Capital Chronicle, founded in 2021, is a nonprofit news organization that focuses on Oregon state government, politics and policy.