The City of Portland Bureau of Environmental Services is reporting that due to weather-related impacts, crews are working around-the-clock at multiple locations to make emergency repairs and prevent sewage releases to people’s homes, businesses, and the environment.
Currently, the city’s largest sewage pump station, which serves downtown and the surrounding inner city, is under partial service due to a frozen pipe. At this time there is no public impact.
Environmental Services has been able to continue service to homes and businesses and prevent sewage overflows to properties and the Willamette River by using the Big Pipe system to store sewage while those pump station repairs are underway. People can follow the Big Pipe Tracker to see how much is being stored and how full the system is.
While the Big Pipe system is storing that sewage, crews are racing to make repairs to the pump station by Tuesday night, ahead of forecasted rain and snowmelt on Wednesday.
In the unlikely event that repairs take longer than anticipated, Environmental Services may issue a call for residents to limit flushing and dishwashing to allow for less flow into the system. That is not likely, and repairs are anticipated to be complete by Tuesday night.
Meanwhile, crews have also worked to maintain sewage service citywide as freezing temperatures triggered power outages that impacted the city’s main wastewater treatment plant and some of Portland’s 99 sewage pump stations. Those pump stations in every neighborhood ensure that sewage is safely sent from to the city’s main treatment plant. Environmental Services crews have been responding to outages and deploying portable generators and heaters to keep those pump stations operating.
The only significant impact to date occurred when a backup generator at one pump station, near E Burnside Street and 105th Avenue, froze yesterday, sending sewage into about a dozen homes. Crews restored service around 2 a.m. and are helping homeowners on cleanup.
In addition, the City’s main wastewater treatment plant itself experienced a power outage on Friday night after a truck collided with a power pole in North Portland. Crews worked overnight on emergency repairs to maintain service and prevent damage to the plant.
Source: Portland Bureau of Environmental Services