PORTLAND — Activists concerned about water purity and water rates occupied Portland’s Mount Tabor Park on Friday evening to protest the city’s decision to follow a federal mandate to cover open reservoirs.
An organizer called the event “an incredible success” and said demonstrators were to return Saturday evening.
Police said two people were arrested. They included a 66-year-old protester accused of trespassing and a 42-year-old man accused of interfering with a police officer.
Jessie Sponberg, an organizer, estimated the protest crowd at about 300 and described the group as “a completely diverse collection of water bureau rate payers,” including grandparents, homeowners, “old women banging pots and pans.”
Park regulations called for closure at midnight and Sponberg said shortly after 11 p.m. that demonstrators were cleaning up and moving out rather than risk a police confrontation.
In a statement issued earlier, Mayor Charlie Hales asked demonstrators to keep the protest peaceful and follow park rules.
Early Friday evening, the demonstration got off to a laid-back start, with several dozen people on the grass in front of one of the reservoirs — an empty one. Drivers honked their horns in support of protesters who waived Cascadia flags and held pro-reservoir signs.
The roots of the dispute date to the Bush administration, when the Environmental Protection Agency issued a rule to prevent contamination by cryptosporidium, a parasite that killed more than 100 people in Milwaukee in 1993 and sickened thousands more.
Portland officials spent years seeking delays from the order, contending the requirement to cover open reservoirs is expensive and unnecessary. But the recently elected Hales and three city commissioners threw in the towel last month after a request for more time was denied.
Demonstrators, however, say the city’s effort has been half-hearted. They want city leaders to ask Oregon’s congressional delegation for help pursuing a waiver or extension.
“We’ve not exhausted all legal options,” said Floy Jones of the group Friends of the Reservoir. “Portland has never made a serious attempt to address this onerous regulation, unlike Rochester, N.Y. (which got an extension).”
City Commissioner Nick Fish, who is charge of the water bureau, said he recently discussed the matter with the congressional delegation and he is convinced that Portland is out of options.
“No large water system in the country is exempt from this rule, and despite our best efforts, an exception for Portland is not possible,” he wrote on his website.
Portland has five open drinking water reservoirs, three at Mount Tabor in Southeast Portland and two at Washington Park on the city’s west side.
Supporters of open reservoirs say it’s foolish to mess with Portland’s excellent drinking water, and charging higher rates to do so.
