Have you ever wanted a perfect blend of nature and culture? Well, the upcoming Powell Butte concerts are your ticket. Even better, they are free!

The Portland Water Bureau is sponsoring two outdoor concerts through the Portland Parks & Recreation's summer concert series. The first event is Saturday, July 11, featuring the Sam Bam Boo band's Caribbean calypso sounds. On Saturday, July 18, Rich Halley's Outside Music Ensemble will perform original jazz rhythms.

Both concerts will be held from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm in the park's hilltop meadow, about a 15-minute walk uphill from the park's main parking lot. Visitors are reminded that the concerts are outside in a natural grassy setting so they should dress for the weather. There will be no food or beverage vendors available, so visitors also should pack in their picnic baskets. Also, make sure that you "pack-in, pack-out" all your garbage. Powell Butte Nature Park is located at SE Powell Blvd and 161st Street, although there are several neighborhood trailheads around the butte.

Whether it’s your first time to Powell Butte or it’s your favorite in-town nature spot, we hope you’ll join us for these special summer events.

Darcy Cronin

Facilities Services Specialist

An article in The Oregonian caught my eye the other day because it called my attention to a state agency that I am not very familiar with; The Oregon Water Resources Department. Naturally, I did a little digging so that I could better understand the work done by these folks.

Here's what I learned:

• Here is the agency's Web site link: http://www.oregon.gov/OWRD/
• It's vision is "to assure sufficient and sustainable water supplies are available to meet current and future needs."
• The mission includes directly addressing Oregon's water supply needs and restoring and protecting streamflows and watersheds in order to ensure the long-term sustainability of Oregon's ecosystems, economy and quality of life.
• The department is the state agency charged with administration of the laws governing surface and ground water resources.
• There offices are in Salem, OR, though they do have four other regional offices and 15 small field offices throughout our state.
• John Jackson, the Northwest Region District Representative, owns and operates Orchard View Nursery. He is a former Water and Environmental Planner with the Oregon DEQ.
• The agency maintains an online tool called the Water Rights Information System that allows the public to access information about water rights in Oregon.
• They also maintain an Oregon Drought Watch, for information concerning the availability of water in Oregon for the current year.

Jennie Day-Burget

Blogmistress

Puyallup, Washington senior, Eric Mitchell, recently led Boy Scout Troop 571 on a water quality project that advanced him to Eagle Scout, the highest level for a scout.

For four weekends, Mitchell and his fellow troops spent long hours stenciling the message, "Dump No Water -- Drains to Stream," on 350 storm drains in Puyallup's Sunrise neighborhood.

The troop hopes that the message will remind neighbors that whatever enters the catch basins goes directly into local streams, lakes, wetlands and the Puget Sound, without treatment.

More here.

Jennie Day-Burget

PIO

Here is our new friend, Adam, posing with his "I Only Drink Tap Water" sticker at Turner Memorial Stadium in Atlanta, GA! Rumor has it they're big on tap water there, too!

Jennie Day-Burget

Blogmistress

In an effort to call attention to the world's water crisis, Water Partners International has created an interesting new ad campaign.

The campaign is called L'Desh Fresh (as in Bangladesh) and is meant to emulate the fancy advertising campaigns we see from water bottlers across the world.

With the slogan, "The World's Most Authentic Drinking Water," the Web site appears to be your basic bottled water campaign at first glance. However, as you dig further into the information, you'll find that this is not your average bottled water campaign...

I'm not going to say anymore. You check it out for yourself.

JD-B

PIO

Ed Jahn, from OPB's Field Journal, posted this on their Web site today. It is so beautiful, I thought we should share with the blog readers too!

Jennie Day-Burget

PIO

Dear Blogmistress,

A couple of weeks ago I was hosting a guest who could not believe how delicious Bull Run water is. "This is the best water I've ever tasted," she said at lunch, waving away offers of fancy bottled water from the wait staff. She and her husband, both natives of Turkey, have spent the last six years surviving on bottled water in Princeton, New Jersey. "When we got to our hotel in Portland, we thought we'd have to buy bottled water. In desperation, we took a drink from the tap. I was delighted; the water was so clear and tasty. I wish we could take several gallons home with us," said Gozde Ucar. The best part, dear Blogmistress, is that she was not pandering--she told me this story with no idea that I worked for the Portland Water Bureau. It just goes to show you: From forest to faucet, we deliver the best drinking water in the world!"

Jessica Letteney

Technical Writer

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power's (DWP) new Residential Drought Resistant Landscape Incentive Program offers customers a novel way to cash in on their water conservation efforts... literally.

The new program credits single-family, residential customers $1 for each square foot of turf removed and replaced with drought resistant plants, mulch and/or water-permeable hardscapes. Plans must be pre-approved by DWP, who will also make a follow-up visit to ensure that the work truly occurs, before credits are rewarded.

DWP already has programs in place offering rebates for installing water-efficient appliances and fixtures, as many parts of California have experienced three years of below-average percipitation and shortages from major water sources.

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

Hey Peeps! Field Day is less than a month off now -- have you registered yet?

This year we offer three exciting tours:

Ride Along with a Maintenance & Construction Crew (7am-3pm)

Ride along with one of the crews that install and maintain the water lines in Portland's water system.

Water Supply and Storage Bus Tour (7am-3pm)

Take a guided bus tour of the Mt.Tabor or Washington Park reservoirs, the Columbia South Shore Well Field supply facilities or other key facilities.

Maintenance and Construction Bus Tour (7am-3pm)

Take a guided bus tour and watch Water Bureau crews constructing, operating and maintaining Portland's drinking water system.

Click here to register. For more information, contact Sarah Bott by e-mail or phone at 503-823-7637.

 Every time I see a video like this, it reminds me just how lucky we are to live where we live.

Water bottling giant, Nestle Waters North America, is looking at coming to Oregon sometime in the near future. NWNA is eyeing 25 acres of industrial zoned land in Cascade Locks, about 45 miles east of Portland.

The company plans to draw approximately 300 gallons of water per minute from a nearby spring, or about 100 million gallons of water per year. The water will fill plastic bottles of Arrowhead and Pure Life water.

While the plan is not yet final, the company faces both support and dissent from the small town of Cascade Locks. Some feel that the plant would be a welcome addition to supplant a dying economy; others fear that the 45 jobs created by the plant would be low-paying, in addition to worries about the loss of water rights and a massive amount of large trucks that would accompany the plant.

Jennie Day-Burget

PIO

Lawns provide many benefits – both aesthetic and practical – but they also require a lot of water.

How can you make sure you’re watering your lawn the right amount and not wasting a valuable resource? This summer, the Regional Water Providers Consortium has made resources available to you.

Get a FREE watering gauge to measure your sprinkler output

Before you can use the Weekly Watering Number, you need to find out how much water is coming out of your sprinkler over a given period of time. Watering gauges help you do this. You can request free watering gauges – while supplies last – directly from the Consortium by calling 503-823-7528, or sending an e-mail to RWPCinfo@water.ci.portland.or.us. You can also order a free watering gauge from the Portland Water Bureau here.

Weekly Watering Number

Lawns generally need about one inch of water a week to stay healthy. Spring through summer, the Consortium posts the Weekly Watering Number on its Web site, www.conserveh2o.org. The number accounts for current weather conditions and shows how much additional water you need to water your lawn that week so it gets its one-inch dose. Use the number to calculate how much to water your trees, shrubs and vegetables, too. You can even sign up to receive the number every week by e-mail.

Once you know how much water is coming out of your sprinkler over a set period of time, you can use the Weekly Watering Number to help you estimate how long to run your sprinkler so that your lawn, plants and shrubs get the right amount of water.

For more information, contact:

Sarah Santner

Residential Water Conservation Coordinator

Phone: (503) 823-7444

Email: sarah.santner@ci.portland.or.us

An interesting AP article about the shrinking Dead Sea caught my eye this morning and I thought I'd share with you all.

Evidently, both the Jordanian and Israeli sides of the Dead Sea are plagued by open sinkholes caused by a dire water shortage in the sea. It is estimated that as many as 3,000 sinkholes currently exist, with many more that haven't opened up yet. Holes reported to be sometimes 30 feet deep, can open up in the blink of an eye, sucking anything nearby in to the earth and creating what looks like the aftermath of an earthquake.

Water from the Jordan River, which is a major drinking water source for Israel, Jordan, Syria and Lebanon, was diverted from the Dead Sea in the 1960's. Since that time, the Dead Sea has shrunk by a third, and thus the sinkholes. According to the article, "The holes form when a subterranean salt layer that once bordered the sea is dissolved by underground fresh water that follows the receding Dead Sea waters." 

Other than the obvious dangerous impacts of existing or sudden sinkholes, they have also wreaked havoc on economic development. Many plans for new development in the affected areas have been scraped, some existing development has been closed and construction between the Dead Sea and a nearby highway is prohibited.

It is estimated that without a solution, the Dead Sea will lose another third of its size over the next century.

Jennie Day-Burget

Scary Stuff!