January 05, 2003
Words Around the Reservoir
I will confess up front that I was skeptical that the organizers of today's Hands Around the Reservoir event would be able to assemble enough people together to actually join hands around Mt. Tabor's Reservoir 6. Various other Portland hand-joining events have been rather hit or miss in terms of success.
When I arrived at Reservoir 6, shortly before noon, there were barely any people there. I spent the bulk of the next 30 minutes climbing up and down the hill above looking for various angles from which to shoot pictures (in the previous post, I ended up leaving out most of the "before" pictures altogether).
By the time it seemed as if the organizers were calling for the joining of hands, I made my way back down to the short hill immediately above Reservoir 6 and was admittedly surprised to find that they did, indeed, appear to have gathered together enough people to complete the circle.
Credit goes to the organizers for what was certainly a concerted push to publicize this event. Between the newspaper coverage, radio coverage, the network of fliers and posters, and the sign-holding events staged on at least one of the bridges across the Willamette River, they had obviously done an astonishingly good job of spreading the word.
At this point, it would indeed seem that if the planners inside City Hall are at all smart, they will move the entire process -- to the greatest degree possible -- back to the starting gate. Regardless of what Commissioner Saltzman and others might think about the process and the public's involvement thus far, obviously the public itself appears to have a very different opinion.
I remain unconvinced that there is a serious problem with the idea of burying the reservoirs. But even if all sides involved were to accept that premise, the discussion of what to do next needs to begin from scratch.
There may indeed be new possibilities for the reservoirs. But the process simply should not begin with the premise that any such new possibilities are a given. For all intents and purposes, the burden of proof is on City Hall to prove that there is a need and/or desire to do anything other than replicate the reservoir experience which exists there now.
Comments (3)
The One True b!X on 05 Jan 2003
For a good primer on what Friends of the Reservoirs is demanding, listen to this 5-minute audio clip of Charles Heying, an Associate Professor of Urban Studies and Planning at Portland State University.
John Bartley on 15 Jan 2003
Gee, I wonder if the filtration system advocated by the "Hands Across the Reservoir" folks would stop ricin, the Muslim terror poison, only 450 micrograms of which will kill?
Steve Reinemer on 15 Jan 2003
Mr. Bartley, regarding your question about the toxicity of ricin when put through the filter system advocated by the Friends, in lieu of burying the reservoirs: First, I presume you mean no special filtration, other than the fact that the water is treated with chlorine and other agents.
Well, as with all but a handful of scarce toxins, it would do nothing unless you had a few tons or more due to the sheer volume of the water.
In addition, at certain chlorine levels, it is inactivated quickly.