ADVOCACY
Tualatin River Water Trail
Support our efforts to provide public access every 5 miles on the lower 40 miles of the Tualatin.
MORE ISSUES
Update on Planning for the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge
Last December the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service gathered comments from the public about how our local refuge should be managed and used. Issues include recreational access, paddling, hunting & fishing, fees and more. Click here to read about the three management alternatives proposed for the Comprehensive Conservation Plan. Next Spring you will have another opportunity to weigh in when the draft environmental impact statement is released. Stay tuned.
Cleanup Plan for Lakeside Landfill
DEQ is putting the finishing touches on a cleanup plan for the Lakeside Landfill on the north side of the river near the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge. The unlined landfill has been operating for almost 60 years and leaks pollutants into groundwater and the river. Tualatin Riverkeepers submitted comments on the long-term sustainability of the cleanup plan, which you can read online. More information on the landfill and the cleanup plan is available online from DEQ.
Metro's Growth Management Decision
Urban Growth Boundary on Cooper Mountain
This fall the Metro Council will decide if, how much, and where, they should expand the Urban Growth Boundary. TRK has taken issue with the Chief Operating Officer's recommendation that would expand the UGB in areas susceptible to urban runoff that damage streams. Read our comments,read Metro's analysis and submit your comments.
Protect Streams from Logging Road Runoff
Photo by Pacific Watershed Associates
Senator Ron Wyden and Congressman Kurt Schrader have introduced legislation exempting logging roads from permit requirements under the Clean Water Act. Please email or call Sen. Wyden and Rep. Schrader. Ask them to withdraw their Dirty Forest Water amendment!
Tell them to stop attacking our clean water laws!
Sen. Ron Wyden:202-224-5244
Rep. Kurt Schrader: 202-225-5711
Ban the Bag
Tualatin Riverkeepers has joined a coalition of groups working to ban single-use plastic shopping bags in Oregon. Learn more.
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Report Problems
You can help protect the Tualatin River System by reporting problems that you witness to the proper agency. Here are some steps to help you do that.
- For life threatening situations and crimes in progress, call 911 immediately.
- For a list of who to call, check out our Agency Contact List
- Help us track problems and their remedies by filling out an online Trouble Ticket
- For additional guidance call our office at 503-218-2580
- Photos help agencies respond quickly and appropriately. If you are able to take digital photo of the problem, send them to brian@tualatinriverkeepers.org after filling out the trouble ticket.
Become a member through your secure online donation to Tualatin Riverkeepers through Network for Good.
Click to sign up for our e-mail action alerts.
Protecting Streams from Heat and Runoff
Water quality standards for the Tualatin River and its tributaries were first established by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) in 1988. Every 5 years or so, DEQ reviews these standards for revision. These standards, called Total Maximum Daily Loads or TMDLs.
This fall DEQ released proposed revisions to the Tualatin TMDLs that were designed to accommodate the growing population of Washington County by allowing treated sewage effluent to be discharged from wastewater treatment plants in Hillsboro and Forest Grove.
Tualatin Riverkeepers expressed some concerns to DEQ about these proposed revisions, particularly about the increase in temperature in a stretch of the river where small salmon grow up. TRK also raised significant issues about how the TMDLs are not protecting urban streams.
DEQ lists 12 urban streams in the Tualatin basin as being impaired for "biological criteria". Based on surveys of fish and macroinvertebrates (aka bugs), these streams have significantly less biodiversity than they once did.
Numerous peer-reviewed scientific studies document the impact of urbanization on the biodiversity of streams. These studies are the basis of the Healthy Streams Plan published by Clean Water Services in 2005. Urbanization is characterized by impervious cover (streets, sidewalks, parking lots, rooftops) and storm drains connected directly to the nearest stream. This puts a lot of pollution, both chemical and physical in our local waters that impacts bugs and fish.
Tualatin Riverkeepers asked DEQ to address the biologically impaired streams with limits on Effective Impervious Area. We also asked DEQ to regulate runoff from large impervious areas, such as commercial parking lots, with permits under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System.
Believe it or not, people used to catch trout in our urban streams. One of the reason this seldom happens any more is that our streams are too warm. Tualatin Riverkeepers documented the increase in temperature casued by one small dam on Summer Creek and cited other research that shows these small top-flow dams consistently raise temperatures in streams and impact fish populations. We asked DEQ to address the temperatue impacts of these small dams in the TMDL revisions.
We also asked DEQ to hold forestry and agriculture more accountable for their impacts on streams and the river. To read all of our comments on revising the Tualatin TMDLs click here
Urban Stormwater
Stormwater runoff is the biggest source of pollution in the Tualatin River. In 2010 and 2011 municipal stormwater permits are up for renewal. TRK is advocating to make these permits more protective of our neighborhood streams and the Tualatin River.
Learn more about stormwater runoff.
Proposed Quarry Would Damage Refuge
A proposed rock quarry adjacent to the southern border of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge would excavate 300 feet deep and severely impact the flow of water to wetlands on the refuge and private wetlands with conservation easements. The conditional use permit is being opposed by Tualatin Riverkeepers,Friends of the Refuge, Raindrops to Refuge, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife and neighboring property owners.
Read the article in the Sherwood Gazette.
UPDATE: Oregon's Land Use Board of Appeals (LUBA) remands hearings officer's decision to allow quarry.
Blue-green Algae
We have a new webpage devoted to the topic of cyanobacteria (aka blue-green algae). Please report sightings.
Scoggins Dam Fish Protection
Construction of the Scoggins Dam at Henry Hagg Lake cut off passage to spawning grounds for salmon and steelhead trout. Planning to raise the dam offers an opportunity to fix past damage and improve habitat.
Watch the Oregon Field Guide Video
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