© 2024 | Jefferson Public Radio
Southern Oregon University
1250 Siskiyou Blvd.
Ashland, OR 97520
541.552.6301 | 800.782.6191
a service of Southern Oregon University
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Portland Water Officials Propose Lead Timeline Under EPA Pressure

Oregon health officials received a Monday intended to address Portland’s problems with lead in drinking water.

The Portland Water Bureau is working to finish a study by next year into how corrosive water affects the region’s lead problem. But even under its proposed faster timeline, major changes wouldn’t happen until mid-2022.  

The Environmental Protection Agency reviewed the pervasive lead results in Portland schools in a recent meeting with city and state officials. The EPA asking them to follow a schedule that is “as aggressive as technically achievable.”  

A bureau spokesperson said the proposed "accelerated timeline" is as fast as "technically feasible."

The Portland Water Bureau has found lead above — or very close to the federal lead limit — throughout its last three years of testing.  

The EPA says the corrosion study should be quick but will also consider possible unintended health effects of changes. The EPA wants more information from the state to see if more should be done sooner.

Copyright 2020 EarthFix. To see more, visit .

<p>The city of Portland has two drinking water reservoirs in the Bull Run watershed.</p>

Cassandra Profita

/

The city of Portland has two drinking water reservoirs in the Bull Run watershed.

Rob Manning is a news editor at Oregon Public Broadcasting, with oversight of reporters covering education, healthcare and business. Rob became an editor in 2019, following about 15 years covering schools and universities in Oregon and southwest Washington as OPB’s education reporter.