Growing number of toxic algae blooms worries Oregon Legislature

Oregon lawmakers are scrambling to come up with a long-term plan for detecting and responding to harmful algal blooms in drinking and recreational water supplies.

The push follows several recent incidents, including a toxic algae bloom that shut down Salem’s municipal water supply for more than a month last year.

In that case, a bungled alert caused a brief panic, followed by a run on bottled water that left store shelves stripped clean throughout the Willamette Valley. 

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“We as a state got caught a little flat footed,” Rep. Ken Helm, D-Beaverton, said at a public hearing this week on three bills proposed to tackle the issue. “We didn’t have the quick turnaround times we probably needed.”

Last fall, following Salem’s crisis, the Legislature provided additional funding for laboratory equipment and a temporary testing position, to ensure testing for toxins could be done locally rather than being sent out of state.

But Gov. Kate Brown’s proposed budget doesn’t include continued funding for personnel to conduct the testing, said Mark Landauer, of the Special Districts Association of Oregon. 

Brown "...will continue to evaluate needs to protect Oregon communities throughout the legislative session," her spokeswoman, Kate Kondayen, said. 

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Only a fraction of Oregon water bodies currently are monitored and sampled for toxic algae, said Rep. Paul Holvey, D-Eugene.

The proposed legislation is modeled on programs in Washington and California.

“All three of these concepts are really focused on, in many ways, a reaction or response to a changing climate,” Rep. Paul Evans, D-Monmouth said. “A lot of the things we’re going to have to adjust to.”

House Bill 3340 requires the Oregon Health Authority to identify susceptible water sources; develop a system to monitor and test those sources; and develop a protocol for issuing hazard advisories to the public.

It requires the Department of Environmental Quality to develop a coordinated state agency strategy for algal bloom monitoring and response, and maintain a publicly accessible clearinghouse of algal bloom data.

And it requires DEQ to identify sources of pollution contributing to algal blooms and develop plans to reduce those pollutants.

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House Bill 3326 contains most of the same provisions as HB 3340.It also appropriates nearly $1 million from the general fund to DEQ to carry out its work.

Both bills would apply to drinking water and recreational water sources.

House Bill 2944 creates a new Task Force on Oregon’s Domestic Water Supply, and charges it with completing a report on how to prevent and control toxic algal blooms.  

The report, due in September 2020, would include strategies for sampling, testing and inspecting water supplies; fielding fixed and mobile mitigation equipment; and prioritizing funding for the highest-risk environments. The bill applies only to drinking water sources.

Contact the reporter at tloew@statesmanjournal.com, 503-399-6779 or follow at Twitter.com/Tracy_Loew