Clarification: This story was updated after the city of Salem corrected its original statement. Sewage spilled into the Sheldon Ditch, not the Mill Race.
Over 46,000 gallons of raw sewage mixed with rainwater spilled into three Salem waterways Thursday after melting snow caused an overflow.
The diluted sewage spilled into the Willamette River, the Sheldon Ditch and Pringle Creek, the city of Salem announced in a news release Friday afternoon.
After the snowmelt and subsequent rainfall, groundwater entered sanitary sewers from cracks and holes in pipes, footing drains and other water sources from private properties.
That overwhelmed Salem’s two sewage treatment plants. Both the Willow Lake Wastewater Treatment Facility in Keizer and the River Road Wet Weather Treatment Facility in north Salem “were operating at their maximum treatment capacity during the heavy rain event,” the city said in the news release.
Sewage started spilling from an “overflow relief location” at Union and Church streets into the Willamette River around 5:03 p.m. Thursday and stopped at 7:16 p.m., according to the statement. The city said 22,000 gallons spilled into the river.
The second spill into the Shelton Ditch, a canal in southeast Salem, came at 3:38 p.m. from three separate manholes around 1100 and 885 Airport Road S.E. It was stopped at 6:15 p.m. after 24,335 gallons of sewage spilled.
That overflow was caused by “a debris jam of grease and rags” which city crews quickly cleared, according to the statement.
The third spill into Pringle Creek started at 2:15 p.m. and came from a home at 4391 Nalani Ct. S.E. It stopped at 7:15 p.m. after 306 gallons of sewage spilled.
“This location has been previously identified as having capacity concerns and is on an engineering project list to address,” the city said.
The city has posted signs warning people to avoid contact with water in Willamette River, Shelton Ditch and Pringle Creek “due to potentially high levels of bacteria,” according to the statement. “Water quality samples will continue to be taken until the results indicate that the issue has been cleared. The signs will be removed once the bacteria levels return to normal.”
The last overflow the city announced occurred on Dec. 6, 2023, when 3.15 million gallons of raw sewage mixed with rainwater spilled into the Willamette River. That sewage came from the North River Road Wet Weather Treatment Facility and the Union Street Pump Station.
Contact reporter Ardeshir Tabrizian: [email protected] or 503-929-3053.
SUPPORT OUR WORK – We depend on subscribers for resources to report on Salem with care and depth, fairness and accuracy. Subscribe today to get our daily newsletters and more. Click I want to subscribe!
Ardeshir Tabrizian has covered criminal justice and housing for Salem Reporter since September 2021. As an Oregon native, his award-winning watchdog journalism has traversed the state. He has done reporting for The Oregonian, Eugene Weekly and Malheur Enterprise.
