I am pessimistic about the human race because it is too ingenious for its own good. Our approach to nature is to beat it into submission. We would stand a better chance of survival if we accommodated ourselves to this planet and viewed it appreciatively instead of skeptically and dictatorially. E.B. White

The Columbia Slough is part of the Willamette River Basin, which in turn is part of the larger Columbia River watershed. These watersheds are intimately connected. The slough empties into the Willamette near Kelley Point Park and the North Portland Harbor. On December 1, 2000, portions of the Willamette River, including the North Portland harbor, were designated as a federal Superfund site. Among the most dangerous contaminants found in the Willamette are polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly called PCBs, mercury, and pesticides including DDT — the same substances found in the Columbia Slough. The effects of PCBs include increased risk of neurological problems, endocrine malfunctions, immune system deficiences or cancer. Fat soluble chemicals such as PCBs increase in potency through a process called “biological amplification.” From sediment to microbe, to worm, to fish, to humans and other species, they bioaccumulate, as Susan Barthel explains, “so that if big creatures eat smaller creatures who eat substances containing the toxic material, they ingest the whole food chain’s load.” The toxic substances multiply as they are absorbed into the fatty tissue of each successive organism, increasing their potentially toxic risks. Although testing ruled out Superfund designation for the Columbia Slough, it shares some of the same problems: contaminated water and contaminated fish.

The Department of Environmental Quality has declared the Columbia Slough as “water-quality limited,”meaning it has a variety of pollution problems, including:

• Toxic Substances (lead, PCBs, DDE, DDT, dieldrin, dioxin)
• Eutrophication (pH, dissolved oxygen, phosphorous,      chlorophyll a)
• High levels of bacteria
• High temperatures

While federal and state agencies regulate allowable pollution levels through Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs) of pollutants a waterway can receive without violating water quality standards, local agencies implement those regulations. The Multnomah Drainage District is reponsible for the water management of the Columbia Slough and the city of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services monitors, educates, and administers programs on the slough ranging from sediment studies to classroom and field education. Portland’s directly elected regional government, Metro, is also involved in managing the Columbia Slough watershed through its responsibility for growth management, transportation and land-use planning, regional parks and greenspaces programs, and technical services to local governments. These formal government entities work closely with citizen groups such as the Friends of Smith and Bybee Lakes and the many groups represented on the Columbia Slough Watershed Council.

Click on the following to see full size images of brochures created to warn and educate the public about pollution on the Slough:

• Summary Water Quality Report: Columbia Slough Water Quality Management Plan, November 1988
• DEQ Oregon Water Quality Report, 1986-1995
• TMDL Fact Sheet
• Northwest Environmental Advocates Response to 1995 Sediment Studies
• 1997 Columbia Slough Water Quality Report, prepared for the Bureau of Environmental Services by Scott Wells
• The Distribution and Transfer of Columbia Slough Sediments, Center for Coastal and Land Margin Research Web Site
• DEQ Stormwater Discharge Permit
• Endangered Species Act Program, City of Portland
• Willamette River Basin Water Quality, Department of Environmental Quality Web Site
• Willamette River Fact Sheet, American Heritage Rivers Web Site
• Willamette Riverkeeper Web Site
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Superfund Web Site

Next Page: Go to the Source and Questions to Consider: Columbia Slough, Part IV