PORTLAND, Ore. -- Call it the big flush.

Because a 21-year-old man was caught on a security camera urinating into a city reservoir, Oregon's biggest city is sending 8 million gallons of treated drinking water down the drain.

Portland officials defended the decision Monday, saying they didn't want to send city residents water laced, however infinitesimally, with urine.

Public health officials say, however, that urine is sterile in healthy people and that the urine in the reservoir was so diluted -- perhaps a half pint in millions of gallons -- that it posed little risk.


Some people in the city, in the suburbs and around the world called the flush an overreaction, especially since animals such as ducks contribute waste routinely and, sometimes, die in the water.

"More than 1 billion people worldwide do not have reliable access to clean drinking water, and here we are tossing away nearly 8 million gallons of water just to appease the ignorant residents who believe their tap water will otherwise turn yellow," read one comment posted on The Oregonian's Website.

Water from the city's five open air reservoirs, all in parks, goes directly to customers. The reservoirs are due to be replaced by underground storage within a decade, a result of federal requirements.

The reservoirs distribute water that flows from glaciers on Mount Hood. It is treated before it goes to the reservoirs for distribution, and then goes directly to consumers.

The reservoirs are drained twice a year for cleaning, and workers have found animal carcasses, paint cans, construction material, fireworks debris and even the plastic bags people use to scoop up after their dogs, said David Shaff, administrator of the city water bureau.

Even so, Shaff said, the yuck factor was the primary reason for the decision to drain the 8 million gallons, at a cost of less than $8,000 to treat it as sewage.

"Nobody wants to drink pee, and I don't want to deal with the 100 people who would be unhappy that I'm serving them pee in their water," he said. Shaff said the security cameras also showed something that's still unidentified was thrown in the water, heightening concern about potential risks.

City Commissioner Randy Leonard, who is in charge of the water bureau, defended the decision, citing a potential public health risk. He said he worried about the possibility of chlamydia or AIDS from blood in urine.

"I'm for taking the most conservative approach," he said.

Dr. Gary Oxman, the county health officer, said the risk was so close to nil that it falls in the "never say never" range. Even with the uncertainty over an object thrown in the water, "that's still a very small risk," he said.

The young man, Josh Seater, told KATU-TV he'd been drinking, was with friends and thought that the reservoir was a sewage treatment plant. He said he felt guilty instantly, and then security guards arrived.

"I knew I did wrong when I did it," he told the station.

In addition to the sewage charge, Shaff said, the flushed water is worth $28,000.

The Mount Hood watershed that supplies the city is brimming this spring, with 8 million gallons flowing through it about every half hour.

"If I lived in Texas, I might have had a different response," he said.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/health/2011/06/21/man-urinates-in-water-city-flushes-8m-gallons/#ixzz1Pt8kPt6v

That's Oregon for you.

I've been to plenty of places in this country that the water was yellow when it came out of the tap. Does that mean it was peed in?

Yeah, I was rolling when I heard this on the news. Geez!

but the chloramine and the fluoride are still considered safe right?

dang those oregonians.....

Phish phuck in the water.
Do they strain out the excess semen?

Your just jealous because were green and moist and beautiful...
and you live in the desert where everything is dry and ugly!!!

Just a little .
I lived, a number of years. from time to time in Wa. State. It was so miserably gray most of the year. Seemed as though the sun only came out a couple months a year.
Very depressing weather.

It's not for everybody....
depressing weather for me is 95 and 100% humidity where ya can't even breathe, now that's depressing!!
I love the rain and I love how green and beautiful it is here.

And, I was born there.

Is Oregon competing with Texas? I know that everything is supposed to be bigger in Texas.

There's a lake about thirty minutes from me that when we used to go camping there dead fish would constantly was up on shore(im talking several times a day. Not to mention gargage and other things floating in the water.

It's like when they find a floater in a public pool or a watersllide park. They drain and wash the pools and slides when in all reality the amount of chemicals in the water means the person is fine, it's all in their head.

This is what happens when people do not get adequate scientific training.

Absolutely nothing wrong with that water . . . now I would still make an example of that guy . . .

Everyone who drinks surface water drinks urine and worse. Big deal. Go drink from a mountain stream ... then go a mile upstream to watch the herd of moose take a leak.

I think he was referring to the fact that Texas is in the worst drought in history and they are throwing 8 millions gallons away.

Exactly, making sure water is safe to swim in is even easier then drinking water, the high levels of chlorine effectively make it a no brainer, just remove the turd . . . .

The Water Bureau spokesman said that the decision was made purely on the basis, since the incident was already in the news, on the ick factor. Oregonians tend to care about how the public feels about things. Besides, some City workers made a little extra income on this. I'm all for it.

Figures.

Your all for wasting time and money so irrational people can feel better about themselves?

Really?