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I grew up on the Willamette and am now 43 years old. We used to boat and swim in it and even then the river was very dirty and my parents used to make us shower afterwards. A combination of dead eels and raw sewage (which everyone was aware of the contamination even then) didn't seem to deter us and now the river is just as active. It's a shame that the bar is set so low for what we consider "clean" these days. There was an effort to keep certain parts of the small beachways clean called the Greenway project. I'd be interested in seeing how that project actually helped because as far as I can see, there is no change in the quality of the water. As for my vote, I wouldn't let my kids even touch the water without a thorough disinfecting regime afterwards.
--Rene' Ormae-Jarmer

posted 4 years, 9 months ago
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