(December 30, 2019) - The City of Portland is working to contain and clean up an oil sheen on the Columbia Slough that originated from containers that were dumped on the roadway above the slough at NE Glass Plant Road near Alderwood Road.

City contractors have placed booms in the water to contain and absorb the fluid.  Environmental Services advises people recreating on the slough to avoid the immediate area around the NE Glass Plant Road bridge. Crews will keep the booms in place for several days.

The source of the oil sheen are two containers that were dumped on the roadway and discovered around midnight Sunday. Each container holds a maximum of 275 gallons and were found to contain a mixture of oil and gas. Only a fraction of the amount each container could hold is believed to have reached the slough. Portland Fire & Rescue and Portland Bureau of Transportation managed the initial response in the early morning hours of Sunday and cleaned up the residue on the roadway. Environmental Services will continue to monitor the slough.

Anyone with information about this incident is asked to call Environmental Services’ spill response hotline at 503-823-7180. Callers’ information will be kept confidential upon request.

The Bureau of Environmental Services provides city residents with programs to protect water quality and public health, including wastewater collection and treatment, sewer construction and maintenance, stormwater management, and stream and watershed restoration.

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