Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
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thepplswater.bsky.social
Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
@thepplswater.bsky.social
520 followers 440 following 260 posts
Accidental watchfrogs

Portland Water officials: “Convincing the Public Drinking Water is Safe”👉even as it wasn’t.

“…worse than Flint” :

https://www.opb.org/article/2022/01/08/oregon-wants-quick-fix-to-high-lead-levels-in-portlands-water
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thepplswater.bsky.social
Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water @thepplswater.bsky.social · Dec 17
50 years ago today, the SDWA was signed into law.

“The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) is the primary federal law in the United States intended to ensure safe drinking water for the public.”

But at least one Utility skirted it w workarounds (loopholes):
nrdc.org November 2023 “Despite these laws, it became clear that the public was not being protected from lead in drinking water after numerous crises occurred, including in Washington, D.C., in the early 2000s and later Flint, Michigan, and Newark, New Jersey. Even when there are supposedly no lead service lines, water that is inadequately treated for corrosion can cause serious lead contamination, as it does in Portland, Oregon, where it is an ongoing problem. “As the EPA's former head of enforcement has said, the LCR is difficult to enforce, and its implementation has long been "broken." Indeed, NRDC's analysis has found that tens of millions of Americans continue to be served by water systems that are significantly contaminated with lead, and according to the EPA's latest estimate, 9.2 million homes are served by lead service..”
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
thepplswater.bsky.social
In 2017 Pittsburgh was the 2nd largest US water system *AFTER PORTLAND OR* exceeding the fed lead in water limit

👉While PDX Water hid, Pitts Water owned it

“This accomplishment comes admittedly in a failure from the organization to treat drinking water effectively”

www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/n...
Pittsburgh Water announces historic low in lead levels following latest test
In the most recent round of required testing, the city found a historic low in lead levels in drinking water.
www.cbsnews.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:22 AM
thepplswater.bsky.social
Good morning #Caturday
Black cat strategizing as she sits on chair inside watching birds outside.
November 8, 2025 at 2:29 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
alexbaumhardt.bsky.social
Federal judge in Oregon sides with state and city of Portland in suit against Trump over attempted Guard deployment. Finds Trump violated U.S. code and Constitution. Feds likely to appeal:
www.courtlistener.com/docket/71481...
#146 in State of Oregon v. Trump (D. Or., 3:25-cv-01756) – CourtListener.com
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW: For the reasons provided, this Court GRANTS declaratory relief and permanent injunctive relief, as stated herein, and in the accompanying Judgment. See attache...
www.courtlistener.com
November 8, 2025 at 1:05 AM
thepplswater.bsky.social
For years Advocates (+national allies) have asked/begged/demanded Portland Water & OHA distribute free water filters.

“Our findings suggest that early [pre/postnatal] lead exposure may have lasting implications on mental health well beyond childhood & adolescence.”

hsph.harvard.edu/news/prenata...
Prenatal lead exposure linked with increased risk of depression in adulthood | Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health
Prenatal exposure to lead—especially during the third trimester—may lead to significantly higher risk for major depressive disorder and anxiety symptoms in later adulthood, according to a new study le...
hsph.harvard.edu
November 7, 2025 at 10:15 PM
thepplswater.bsky.social
Does Portland Water even care?

Oregonian Ap 10, 2024:

“There will be no additional impact on rates from these cost increases,” - Jodie Inman, PWB former chief engineer

“This is a just a shell game by the [Portland] Water Bureau.” - Bob Sallinger

www.portlandmercury.com/news/2024/03...
November 6, 2025 at 3:35 PM
thepplswater.bsky.social
#moss
Beloved black lab sits next to a huge Pacific Northwest mossy boulder
November 4, 2025 at 8:45 AM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
buildsoil.bsky.social
a diagram showing how the peace simbol comes from the semaphore simbols for N and D standing for Nuclear Disarmament.
November 2, 2025 at 6:21 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
deserteyelid.bsky.social
Wilson and Jordan's job is to manage the policy put forth by council. Period. Not some secondary magic laws they make up on the fly because the business alliance kicked them a fancy dinner.
October 31, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
deserteyelid.bsky.social
The mayor and administrator exist to implement the laws and policies of council. The housing bureau directive was to study social housing. There is no other "his overnight shelter plan" that gets to sprout into existence w/o council approval.
ecosozialismus.bsky.social Nick @ecosozialismus.bsky.social · 10d
@councilordunphy.bsky.social you have way more power than this
lurkinglurkerpdx.bsky.social lurkinglurkerpdx.bsky.social @lurkinglurkerpdx.bsky.social · 10d
Some of them seem to have given up any hope of power:
'“The mayor has absolute authority to decide who he wants leading his team,” Dunphy said.'
www.portlandmercury.com/news/2025/10...
October 31, 2025 at 4:43 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
councilorgreen.bsky.social
I oppose the resumption of sweeps beginning tomorrow. They are costly, ineffective and cruel. At a time when our Federal government is literally starving our most vulnerable neighbors, we add to that by violently taking from them what little they have? My statement attached.
Councilor Mitch Green Portland City Council, District 4 1221 SW 4th Ave. # 240, Portland, OR, 97204 Media Contact: Maria Sipin, Chief of Staff maria.sipin2@portlandoregon.gov FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Councilor Mitch Green’s Statement on November 1st Camping Ban Enforcement Policy October 30, 2025 “We have seen ICE and the National Guard perform homeless sweeps in other cities where they've been deployed, and we’ve heard Trump calling for increased sweeps and even disappearance of unhoused people. It is a bad, cruel, and failed policy when the Trump administration does it, and it is a bad, cruel, and failed policy when the city of Portland does it. As we face the very real possibility of federal troops being deployed to our streets to target one group of vulnerable people, we absolutely cannot start using our own police to do their work for them by targeting another. Some will argue that sweeps are about safety and compassion, but the evidence is clear and overwhelming. Sweeps kill people. For far too long, Portland has pursued a failed policy of criminalizing poverty. As a result, we’ve spent hundreds of millions of dollars only to see the problem grow, and deaths among our homeless neighbors quadruple between 2019 and 2023. It’s time to change direction. We need to protect ALL Portlanders. We need to focus on programs that move people closer to housing and stability, not policies that punish and further destabilize. Programs like low-barrier jobs programs, direct rental assistance, food aid, and day shelters that provide hygiene, clothing, and case management. Programs like these are humane, cost-effective, and they work. They address the issue of visible poverty that neighbors and businesses are concerned about, but they do so by offering dignity, not displacement. They break the cycle of disappointment and depression—where people spend all day waiting in lines, worrying about their belongings, with no meaningful work. They are a hand up, not a sweep away. But at the end of the day, the only real, lasting solution to homelessness is to provide deeply affordable housing for all. Unless we stop the flow of folks onto the streets, we’re never going to make real progress. That is why we need to move aggressively towards a Social Housing model— high quality, permanently affordable housing that will serve the vast majority of Portlanders, from the unhoused to the middle class. The choice before us is clear. We can either align ourselves with the politics of division, of sweeps, of cages, and of death, or we can choose the politics of solidarity, of housing, of healthcare, and of life.”
October 31, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
propublica.org
Tip-or-treat 🎃

This Halloween, a reminder that a great way to scare those abusing their power is to reach out to us on Signal: 917-512-0201.

*You, too, can shine a light on injustice by making your own ProPublica pumpkin: https://propub.li/43AXneD
Two glowing jack-o-lanterns inside a dark room. One is carved with the words "Signal Tips" and the ProPublica logo, while the other is carved with ProPublica's Signal tipline: 917-512-0201.
October 31, 2025 at 8:51 PM
thepplswater.bsky.social
In 2017 Pittsburgh was the 2nd largest US water system *AFTER PORTLAND OR* exceeding the fed lead in water limit

👉While PDX Water hid, Pitts Water owned it

“This accomplishment comes admittedly in a failure from the organization to treat drinking water effectively”

www.cbsnews.com/pittsburgh/n...
Pittsburgh Water announces historic low in lead levels following latest test
In the most recent round of required testing, the city found a historic low in lead levels in drinking water.
www.cbsnews.com
October 30, 2025 at 2:22 AM
thepplswater.bsky.social
You’d think Portland Water Bureau would create “public education” amid National Lead Poisoning *Prevention* Week, right? #NLPPW (10/19-10/25/25)

…considering their elevated & excessive water lead levels for decades, impacting health (esp children’s developing brains)😡

Another year of silence…
Just another stupid Portland Water Bureau PR campaign, once again ignoring their biggest contaminant of concern, lead, during national lead poisoning prevention week.
October 25, 2025 at 12:08 AM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
cwebbonline.com
Absolutely no one spends $350 million on a remodel to a house they plan on leaving in three years. No one!!!
October 24, 2025 at 2:14 AM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
alexbaumhardt.bsky.social
The Dissent from 9th Circuit judge Susan Graber is powerful: “observers may be tempted to view the majority’s ruling, which accepts the government’s characterization of
Portland as a war zone, as merely absurd. But today’s decision is not merely absurd. It erodes core constitutional principles”
October 20, 2025 at 7:38 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
50501movement.bsky.social
Here’s a list of companies to file complaints with and boycott for running ICE advertisements.
ICE recruitment ads appearing on Spotify, HBO Max and other streaming services
DHS says the ad blitz has led to more than 175,000 applications and 18,000 tentative job offers
www.independent.co.uk
October 20, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
thepplswater.bsky.social
ICE facility in Portland Oregon with (appropriate) signage on wall, “Look up and see American gestapo”
October 19, 2025 at 12:47 AM
thepplswater.bsky.social
Scenes post-#NoKings march

“Burgerville or Lardo?”
Inflatable Frogs cross the road to their lunch spot Burgerville (or Lardo) on Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland OR Inflatable Frog crossed the road to lunch spot Burgerville (or Lardo) on Hawthorne Boulevard, Portland OR, carrying sign “antiFaROG”
October 19, 2025 at 2:12 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
cwebbonline.com
And in Portland, they’re peaceful and mobilized. Let’s follow their lead…
October 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
cwebbonline.com
Do you know what a group of frogs is called?

AN ARMY
October 18, 2025 at 2:10 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
davidho.bsky.social
I’d like to stop talking about ICE so I can focus on talking about ice in Greenland, Antarctica, the Arctic, and elsewhere.
October 16, 2025 at 6:16 AM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
thepplswater.bsky.social
“There are no federal limits for the amount of heavy metals [protein powders] can contain.”

www.consumerreports.org/lead/protein...
Protein Powders and Shakes Contain High Levels of Lead - Consumer Reports
CR tests of 23 popular protein powders and shakes found that most contain high levels of lead.
www.consumerreports.org
October 14, 2025 at 6:00 PM
thepplswater.bsky.social
Chronic exposure to lead accumulates in the body.

Lead is a neurotoxin and esp damaging to developing brains.

Portland Water leaders have never admitted their role nor yet been held accountable for👇
1997-current Graph shows: Portland Water Bureau officials and treatment engineers allowed chronic levels of high lead in drinking water, despite knowing how - and having the tools - to significantly lower levels .
October 16, 2025 at 1:29 AM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
alexbaumhardt.bsky.social
Hermiston Assist City Manager Mark Morgan saying he'll take a 'wait-and-see' approach to PFAS contamination in the city's drinking water is wild. “As far as I know, PFAS is odorless,” he said. “But politically I can smell the unfunded mandate coming.” As far as you know?!
www.opb.org/article/2025...
After finding forever chemicals in its drinking water, this Eastern Oregon city stopped testing for them
PFAS turning up in Oregon cities remain unregulated by federal clean water laws.
www.opb.org
October 15, 2025 at 6:02 PM
Reposted by Portland Advocates for Lead-free Drinking Water
ecosozialismus.bsky.social
🛢️ Zenith Energy update 🧵 🛢️

Last week, Oregon DEQ approved Zenith's air permit. DEQ officials argued publicly that the permit represents an improvement in air quality because of supposed concessions.

Instead, adding risk to an already highly risky situation is a betrayal of the public interest.
October 15, 2025 at 4:50 PM