I finally had a chance to view the Oregon Experience's (OPB) episode entitled, Bull Run. Quite frankly, I'm glad I made the time. What a great broadcast. I learned so much about a system that I've been working with for 4 years now - just goes to show, you can always learn something new!

I highly recommend that all Portlanders take 30 minutes and sit down to watch this show. Not only is the information valuable, but the scenery is beautiful!

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

Water Bureau staff has been conducting salmon surveys in the Bull Run River since 1996. Peak adult salmon counts have varied between 49 and 237. In 2008, however, those counts plummeted. That year staff didn’t see a single adult salmon until mid-September, when at least 12 finally moved into the river. After our efforts to increase summer flows and cool the water down for fish, what gives?

The answer lies in efforts elsewhere to restore the Sandy River for fish. Marmot Dam, on the Sandy River, was removed in the autumn of 2007. This century-old dam had diverted cloudy glacial water from the Sandy River to the neighboring Little Sandy River, a tributary of the Bull Run River. It was then diverted to Rosalyn Lake.

This shuffling of water for almost 100 years, made the Bull Run River smell like the Sandy River. Salmon, intent on following their noses back to their home streams in the upper Sandy basin, were fooled into swimming up the Bull Run instead.

One reason why salmon home back to the stream of their birth is that they have already adapted to its unique environment, as have their offspring. Bureau Resource Protection staff believe that salmon have a tougher time in the lower Bull Run River, which, with its swift, turbulent winter flows and confined bedrock channel, is better suited to steelhead trout. In fact, we find a lot of juvenile steelhead in the river each summer but only a handful of young salmon.

The Water Bureau has undertaken or is planning a number of efforts to improve conditions in the lower Bull Run for both salmon and steelhead, while continuing to provide the same high-quality water to its customers. These efforts include providing more and cooler water in the summer, making sure young fish don’t get stranded, and adding spawning gravel every year. Over time we hope to see salmon and steelhead numbers climb again in the Bull Run River, but this time the fish will be adapted to their true home stream.

Burke Stroebel & Steve Kucas

Resource Protection

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

For more awesome Portland Water Bureau photos, make sure to check out our Flickr photostream at:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pdx_water/

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

Water Bureau employee Sarah Bott accompanied students from PSU's capstone class about Portland's water system, to the Bull Run watershed last week.

Here is a cool photo of Dam #1, shot by one of the students.

Jennie Day-Burget

PIO

Speaking of photo sharing.... The Water Bureau's own Bull Run Educator, Briggy Thomas, sent me this photo of Bull Run Dam 1. Doesn't it look like a fairy tale? Kudos to Briggy!

I will, of course, add it to the FLICKR photostream so you can download it to your desktop if you so desire.

Jennie Day-Burget

Public Information Officer

Have you been on a Bull Run watershed tour yet? If not, you should learn more about getting signed up!

While we're gearing down for this season's tours, there's always next year!

And you might get to see mysterious things like this tree, that our school-aged visitors named the "Doughnut Tree!" Ahh.. to have such an active imagination again!

Jennie Day-Burget

The City of Portland has a century long partnership with the USDA Forest Service regarding the Bull Run watershed which, since 1977, includes co-management roles for both agencies to protect Portland's primary source of drinking water. Last week, representatives from the Portland Water Bureau and Mt. Hood National Forest gathered with environmental and citizen advocates in the watershed to mark the progress of a key partnership project-the decommissioning of unnecessary roads within the water supply drainage.

Click here to read The Oregonian's account of this gathering by Michael Milstein. An important footnote to Mr. Milstein's story is that while the Bull Run watershed is indeed near Mt. Hood, it is not actually on the slopes of the mountain and is in fact a separate water supply drainage from the nearby mountain. 

Terry Black

Sandy River Basin Community Involvement and Information Representative

I post pictures of the Bull Run watershed on this blog all the time. I've shared pictures of bears, snow (even in the summer!), Bull Run Lake and many, many other places.

But, what else can you see from the Bull Run? What's the "bigger" picture? This photo of a very majestic looking Mt. Hood was taken several falls ago, by an employee doing some work in the watershed. Take it in -- it's quite gorgeous.

Doesn't that make you wish it wasn't a work day?

Jennie Burget

Interim Public Information Officer

This has been an interesting year for crews up here at the Sandy River Station. We are still opening the roads in the upper elevations of the watershed. We will likely not have all the roads open for a couple more weeks, even! (We typically have all the roads open by late May or early June.)

Many of the roads in the upper elevations (between 3,000 and 4,000 feet) of the watershed still have shaded areas with 4 or 5 feet of packed snow on them. Combine this with numerous downed trees and you have a rather time consuming job to clear and open them up.

What a unique year…. It's July 18th... we still haven't started drawdown and we are still opening roads in the watershed!

Tim Grandle
Bull Run Supply Supervisor

Pictured is a gorgeous Indian paintbrush, in bloom, in the bureau's Bull Run watershed. The Indian paintbrush, also called the Prairie Fire, is an annual and a native to the western part of our country. They are found from Alaska to the Andes as well as in Asia.

Its flowers are edible and sweet. They were consumed by various American Indian tribes for different reasons such as food and vitamins. It was thought to enhance the immune system. And, as the name indicates, some American Indian tribes used the plant as a paintbrush.

Today will be the first of three public tours to the Bull Run this summer, and your chance to see your watershed in bloom. Check out our calendar page for more details about how to register for upcoming tours. Those of us who are lucky enough to see Indian Paintbrush in the Bull Run watershed don't really use it for anything, but we do think it's awfully pretty.

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Water Bureau staff Kristin Anderson and Jody Burlin were lucky to catch a couple special moments on camera yesterday while in the Bull Run watershed. While driving, they came across these two bear cubs, frolicking about on a warm, (almost) summer afternoon. Kristin said that while it was quite tempting to want to run up and hug the cubs, she thought better of it and restrained herself. We're certainly glad about that!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Most Water Bureau employees are lucky enough to be able to take an employee tour of the Bull Run watershed at least one time during their time with the bureau. And during my trip a couple of years ago, I shot this photo. To me it looks like the cutest little newt water, love-fest in the world. They are nuzzling?! How cute is that? (Keep in mind I am getting married in four weeks so it's all love and romance with me right now!) It turns out though, there is much more to my little friends than meets the eye.

According to our house biologist, Burke Strobel, these two little cuties are called rough-skin newts. They are one of the most toxic animals known to science, believe it or not! Interestingly, the baby version of these little guys is 10 times as potent as an adult and males are more toxic than females by three times. The neurotoxin they secrete is 10 times more toxic than cyanide! While pets or other animals could potentially die from ingestion, there is only one reported human death, but human death is obviously possible. Luckily for us, they don't bite and while they are safe to handle, they are not safe to eat or ingest in any form -- hopefully that's not a problem in the watershed, but in other places it might be. It is recommended that people wash their hands with soap and water after handling a rough-skin newt.

Rough-skin newts, in the watershed, are most commonly brown with orange bellies which they expose if they feel alarmed or threatened. They get their name from the small bumps on their skin which are clusters of glands that secrete the harmful neurotoxin. They generally live up and down the West coast from California to Alaska. They average about four inches long.

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Earlier this year, I wrote about the fact that a possibly over-sensitive community group tried to change the name of our beloved Bull Run, in the early 1900's. The group found the name to be shocking to their sensibilities. While their ideas such as Crystal River and Rose River Run were eventually all shot down, I have often wondered why we call it Bull Run to begin with.

Turns out that it was named after a herd of renegade cattle that once intruded on its boundaries. How did they get so lucky as to be our namesake? (Especially, when you might have read the bureau's annual water quality report this week, that there are around 250 potential species in the Bull Run watershed area!) Please note that these are potential species -- they have not all necessarily been sighted and/or confirmed.

(Click here to download this fascinating list)

Truth be told, those renegade cattle might just have been on their luck that day. Or... maybe we're the lucky ones -- we could be getting our water from the Hoary Bat watershed or the Turkey Vulture watershed. Those names just don't have the same ring as the Bull Run watershed? I don't know if it sounds quite right to go around boasting, "I Only Drink Hoary Bat!" I ONLY DRINK BULL RUN sounds much better!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

The Bull Run Lake and Mt. Hood on a hot summer day... Believe it or not, this is the view that the original constuction crews which worked on Dam 1 woke up to every morning. I took this last summer from inside one of their old cabins, which still stand today.

Personally, I wake up to the blue, brick, side wall of a dive bar every morning, so this view makes me especially jealous. And it sure is nice to fantasize about those hot, summer days right now!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Sandy River Station Manager, Tim Grandle says the he has hired a new, summer security specialist to guard over the Bull Run watershed during off hours. (Pictured on right)

Okay, so actually Watershed Specialist Chad Hall caught this amazing photo of a sow (female bear) hanging out in the Bull Run wilderness last week. I think she could do a darn good job of protecting our reservoirs if need be, however. I certainly wouldn't want to tango with her. (But she does look awfully hugable!)

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

While it is still generally cool and rainy here in Portland, Oregon, those occassional summer days are coming closer and closer together which means it's time to start thinking about summer fun. One of my favorite things to do on a beautiful, summer day is take a visit to the Bull Run watershed. Though, Bull Run is a completely protected resource, the Water Bureau offers tours during the summer and fall months to the general public and school groups.

One of the most unique things that I have found at the Bull Run is the plethora of old growth forest. In fact, about 54 percent of the foliage in the watershed is considered to be old growth and mature. That means that many of these trees are more than 500 years old in most cases... doing some quick math, that means that they were around when Columbus came to our country if not even before! That seems amazing to me!

The old growth is amazing to look at -- it is almost spooky looking in a way. It is dense and moss-covered - almost spidery looking in parts. I can't even imagine the many species which have taken up residence inside these trees over the years.

The watershed is about 12 percent young forest cover. About 31 percent of the watershed is composed of intermediate size and aged forests, with trees that are generally between 9 and 21 inches in diameter.

Now is your time to comment!

Get the information you need to comment on the Bull Run Water Supply Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) and the Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) at two public open houses.

The first open house is April 28, 2008 at the East Portland Community Center, located at 740 SE 106th Avenue, from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM.

The second open house is April 29, 2008 at Portland City Hall in the Lovejoy Room from 5:30 PM to 8:30 PM. City Hall is located at 1221 SW Fifth Avenue, in downtown Portland.

Both documents are now available for a 60-day public comment period which will end on May 27, 2008.

The draft HCP is available at the Portland Water Bureau Web site at: http://www.portlandonline.com/water/hcp

The DEIS, completed by NMFS, describes the environmental impacts of implementing the HCP and evaluates alternative action. It can be found on the NMFS Western Region Web site at: http://www.nwr.noaa.gov/Salmon-Habitat/Habitat-Conservation-Plans/HCPs-in-Process.cfm

Terry Black

Sandy Basin Community Involvement and Information  Representative

503-823-1168

They get to Portland by hitching on ships and on the heels of international travelers. They escape from the yards of gardeners who have planted them as ornamentals. Birds spread their evil seed throughout the land. They climb up native trees, strangling them as they go, and their weight can topple over the largest of Oregon's Douglas firs. They crawl along the forest floor, choking out native ground covers and shrubs.

No, you have not just read the latest Wes Craven horror movie plot, but a description of how those pesky, invasive, non-native plants get into our area. Three species, in particular, impact Water Bureau land in the Sandy River basin: English ivy (Hedera helix), traveler's joy clematis (Clematis vitalba) and English holly (Ilex aquifolium).

The Sandy River Wild and Scenic Area, home to the Water Bureau's historic Dodge Park and Lusted Hills Water Treatment Facility, is a treasured natural area in our region, used by thousands of anglers and outdoor recreationalists every year. In the last few years, Metro, along with The Naure Conservancy, conducted foot surveys in the area and confirmed that it is being heavily impacted and threatened by these invasive plant species. These species provide little or no habitat for animal life and they crowd out and kill the native plants.  

The Water Bureau is doing our part to help eradicate these invasive species, however -we are planning volunteer removal events and using our own resources to remove these invasives. Our first event was last September at Dodge Park and it drew 28 volunteers who treated 46 trees. A local high school senior organized another event this past March, when 39 high school students treated over 100 trees.

Two more volunteer events are scheduled for 2008---May 17 and September 27, 2008. Both events run from 9 AM to 1 PM and lunch is provided to registered volunteers. They are co-hosted by Friends of the Forest and the Portland Water Bureau.

Photo: Water Bureau staff bring out the "big guns" to remove holly and ivy from the bureau's 35-acre Lusted Hills Water Treament Facility last week.

Terry Black

Sandy Basin Representative -- Community Involvement and Information

Okay so it's not quite an ode, it's more like a quote, but in the spirit of St. Valentine, I thought I might take some romantic-sounding liberties.

Oregonian columnist, Sara Perry writes a story every Sunday profiling a local celebrity. Here at the Portland Water Bureau, we were pretty excited to see that last week's local celeb, gallery owner Gary Lawrence, seems to love our Portland tap water as much as we do! Here's what he said:

"Water:  I like to swim in it, sail in it, and drink at least 3 gallons a day of it. I'm never without a huge mug of water. I've always been that way. Let me tell you something -- and I should know -- there's nothing better than Portland's tap water. Who needs bottled water when we've got it straight from Mount Hood?"

Thanks, Gary for your shout-out to the world's best drinking water! We love it too but admittedly, we're a bit partial, so it's nice to get a nod from someone who doesn't work here! Keep on drinking your three gallons per day! That's great for your body and health.

One important thing to note is that Portland's tap water actually comes from the Bull Run watershed, not Mt. Hood. And though the watershed is located within the Mt. Hood National Forest, your drinking water originates from the Bull Run River, not from Mt. Hood glacial melt, like many people mistakenly think. A ridge seperates Bull Run from Mt. Hood, and in fact, glacial melt cannot even reach the Bull Run River. The watershed's elevations range between 750 and 4,700 feet above sea level. Because the watershed is at a relatively low elevation, rain, not summer snowmelt, provides 90-95% of its water. Bull Run receives, on average, 130 inches of rain per year!

Any way you look at it, from forest (Bull Run watershed forest, that is!) to faucet, the Portland Water Bureau delivers the best drinking water in the world- Happy Valentine's Day!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Snow measured nearly 10 feet in the Bull Run watershed last week. That's 348 percent of average. When you compress that down, melt that down into water, it comes out to 12.6 inches of water!

Here are a couple more pictures taken at the Bull Run Cabin- Luckily it stands strong against all that snow fall!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

And the snow just keeps coming down in the Bull Run...

These photos were taken yesterday at around 1,600 feet in elevation, which is a relatively low place to get so much snow-  yet it just keeps piling up! We're running out of places to put it and almost buried this stop sign by accident.

We had to make room for fresh snow piles in several new places so that our plows would have a place to push the snow off the road. Otherwise, we may have lost these roads in the pile-up!

It looks like it might keep snowing, but that's okay, we'll just keep plowing!

Tim Grandle

Bull Run Supply Supervisor

Employees from the Sandy River Station crew took our monthly trip to Bull Run Lake yesterday. We measured a massive 109" of snow. This is the most we have on record at Sandy River Station, ever! The closest year on record was 2002 when they recorded 103" in early February.

How much is 109 inches? Well, for one, 109" of snow = 2.77 meters or over 9 feet high. It is the length of the longest kayak that United Airlines will allow you to carry on board their flights. It is the average amount of yearly rainfall along the California/Oregon border. All in all, 109 inches of snow is a whole lot of snow!

More snow is forecasted over the next few days so February will most likely provide us with an even grander show!

Tim Grandle

Bull Run Supply Supervisor

It never ceases to amaze me how my co-workers, who "live" less than an hour from the Portland Building, experience such drastically different weather than we do sometimes... not to mention that today I find myself a bit jealous of the ample snow! Take a look at the beautiful Bull Run today!

 Photos taken by Watershed Specialist Chad Hall 

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

A little bird told me that there was snow on the ground this morning when she walked to her bus stop... I even heard that some schools are closed too. Being a good Midwestern girl I had to laugh because snow, to me, involves something more like our friends out at Sandy River Station found when they arrived at work this morning....

Bull Run Supply Supervisor Tim Grandle tells me that Sandy River Station received 4-5 inches of snow over the weekend. Staff members, Fred Willey and Craig McMillen worked quickly to get the parking lot de-iced this morning.

Personally, I think it looks like fun! But then again, I'm a Portlander at heart, but a Kansan by birth!

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

On Monday,Water Bureau crews took their first trip to the Bull Run Lake in the snowcat. Crews usually take these trips on a monthly basis during the winter and a snowcat is necessary due to massive snow fall. Crews go so that they are able to take snow depth readings at the lake as well as to check on Water Bureau facilities.

On Monday 12/31, the snow depth measured 75" with about a 30% water content. This measurement is the average of  the 10 measurements that crews took. This is an above average snow depth for this time of year.

The first trip of the winter usually has lots of trees to clear on the way up due to heavy snowfall and this trip was no exception. Crew members had to clear many trees and downed brush from the roadways in order to make it to their destinations. All in all, it was a pretty fun trip! Who doesn't like to "play" in the snow!?

 The top photo shows Tim Grandle and Pete Schlunegger performing snow course readings.

The lower photo shows Sandy River crew members Marty Fairbrother and Pete Schlunegger

waist-deep in 75" of snow!

Tim Grandle

Bull Run Supply Supervisor

Photo taken by Tim Grandle, Bull Run Supply Supervisor

Jennie Day

Interim Public Information Officer

Snow piled up in the Bull Run watershed last week keeping Water Bureau crews very busy. Headworks only received a few inches of snow. Most of this snow fell in only two days. Other key Bull Run watershed access areas like the Walker Prairie Gate and Station 44 received 18" to 2' of snow!

Keeping the roads open to Bear Creek (Dam 1), Walker Prairie, and the key stations (water sampling), last week, was definitely a challenge. The heavy snow took down many trees. The crew had to cut and plow their way to many Water Bureau facilities.

Crews will have several weeks of clean-up this spring, opening up roads and clearing the sides of roads for the mechanical brusher.

Believe it or not, there is a dam and a lake behind all that snow in the picture!

Tim Grandle

Bull Run Supply Supervisor

One morning this past fall, a colleague and I drove up to the Bull Run watershed. That day we were to be tour mentors, helping kids learn about monitoring the turbidity and temperature of the water in the reservoirs.

As the gray buildings and rain-streaked highway unfolded into green fields topped by swirling silver mists, I reviewed my notes on measuring turbidity.  I wanted to remind the students that turbidity—a measure of the cloudiness or suspended solids in the water—is part of the four C’s we use to describe Bull Run water: clean, cold, cheap, and constant. I also needed to make sure that everyone had a chance to help collect the water from different depths, prepare the sample bottles, and use the turbidimeters to get a turbidity reading from the sample.

The students worked hard in the cold and constant rain as we hauled up the Kemmerer bottle with water from the reservoir. The kids carefully prepared and inserted the glass sample bottles into the turbidimeters and just as carefully recorded the data: 1.05 NTUs; 1.08 NTUs, 1.02 NTUs—far lower than the 5 NTU standard for Bull Run water. Some of the students were very enthusiastic about what we were doing: one group wanted to catch some rainwater or pour iced tea into a sample bottle and measure the turbidity. One young fellow wanted to know what we could learn by measuring the temperature and the turbidity from the same depth—a budding hydrologist, that one.

The 40 or so third-graders that we worked with that day were only a fraction of the students that have visited the Bull Run. In 2007, our water resources education team gave tours to more than 1,000 students, teachers, and chaperones and nearly 1,000 adult visitors in a separate series of adult tours.

If you are interested in scheduling a school or adult tour, contact Jody Burlin at 503-823-7437. Scheduling for spring 2008 school tours will begin in January, starting with the many classes already on the waiting list; adult tours will re-start in June of 2008. Call for more information or to be placed on the waiting list.

Pictured: 

Environmental Technician Kristin Anderson prepares the Kemmerer bottle before students lower it into the reservoir to collect turbidity samples.

Jessica Letteney

Resource Protection

A toast with pure Portland water culminated nearly a  decade of collaboration between members of the public, the Portland Water Bureau, and the Mt. Hood National Forest in efforts directed toward stewardship of the Bull Run watershed.

On December 17, City Commissioner Randy Leonard, Forest Service Regional Forester Linda Goodman, and Mt. Hood National Forest Supervisor Gary Larsen signed the Bull Run Watershed Management Unit Agreement at Portland City Council Chambers.

The new agreement serves as a guide for the Portland Water Bureau, the Mt. Hood National Forest, and interested members of the public to promote long-term stewardship of the Bull Run watershed, the source of Portland's drinking water, said to be among the purest in the nation.

"This agreement is vital to the continued stewardship of our pristine watershed," said Commissioner Leonard.

"I could not be more pleased with the efforts of the Portland Water Bureau and the Forest Service in developing a thoughtful approach to managing one of our most treasured resources."

Gary Larsen, Forest Supervisor of the Mt. Hood National Forest added, "We begin a second century of Bull Run stewardship, and we welcome members of the public interested in helping us continue this legacy in the future."

Rick Acosta

Mt. Hood National Forest Public Affairs Officer

Terry Black

Sandy River Basin Representative

Community Involvement and Information

Today the Portland Water Bureau issued a press release that we are turning off groundwater .

• This September was quite dry, except for the last three days of the month. At the Bull Run Headworks, we had 1.5 inches of rain from 9/1 to 9/27 and almost 3 inches from 9/28 to 9/30. The total for September was 4.4 inches. September is an interesting month – sometimes it looks and feels like summer. In other years the rains fall early. On a frequency plot of September rainfall, the peaks fall either between 2 to 3 inches or around 5.5 inches depending on the kind of September we experience.
• This year we went from dry to wet abruptly. From April 27th through September 27th (22 weeks), we had 9 inches total rainfall at Headworks. From September 28th through October 7 (1 1/2 weeks) we had roughly 6 inches. We recorded rain on fewer than one-quarter of the days in that 22-week period, while it's rained on 10 of the 11 days since September 28th. If it keeps raining at this rate for the rest of the month, we'll have something like 12" - 15" at Headworks, which would put us in the upper tenth percentile of historical record.
• In contrast, the total inflow into the Bull Run reservoirs during August and September was in the lowest tenth percentile of historical record.

• Average precipitation at the Headworks facility in Bull Run is about an inch. (The median is .85". The mean is 1.31". )
• About a third of the time since 1899, we have less than an inch in July.
• Since 1899, 8 times it has never rained at all in July. The most recent time was 1984.
• The other summer  months also tend to be dry, but not as dry as July.   Four times we have had no rain in August at Headworks. Once we had a September with no rain. 
• We've never had a year where it didn't rain in both July and August in the same year. The minimum combination for the two months occurred in 1967 -- we had 0.03" inches of rain ... very close to zero.

“Overall, the watershed is well protected and the treatment facilities have redundant disinfection options with auxiliary power. The Portland Water Bureau continues to do an excellent job maintaining the water quality from Bull Run and being proactive with the watershed control program.”

We've been stretching our imaginations here to tie together water service and Halloween: bobbing for apples came up...  Lame, huh?  The best story is likely about the enormous spider colonies at Headworks...but we haven't prepared that story yet...

• In 1980 the start of refill of the Bull Run reservoirs was Halloween. It then took 8 days for the reservoirs to refill.
• The average rainfall for Bull Run Headworks in October is 6.5". So far we've had just 4.62" at Headworks -- but having gained about a billion gallons in reservoir storage, we were able to turn off the groundwater supply today.
• The "median" date for the start of refill is October 3. We're a bit beyond that.