'We are hoping that cyanotoxins don't again get through': $75M to safeguard Salem water

SALEM, Ore. - City of Salem officials are taking steps to prevent last year's water crisis from happening again.

The City of Salem is planning to spend $75 million on new water treatments.

Last year, cyanotoxins from blue-green algae showed up in Salem city water, putting a temporary ban on the tap water, forcing Salem to turn strictly to bottled water.

“We’ve seen it for years in North Santiam, in Detroit Reservoir, but last summer was the first season it's ever made it through treatment process,” Heather Dimke with Salem Public Works says.

Dimke says the toxins came from the city's water source - the Detroit Reservoir.

“I think it's going to be interesting to see if they do pop up elsewhere; it has yet been an issue in Oregon, but other parts of the country have seen it,” she says.

But as researchers work to find out the cause of the toxic spread, she says the City is proposing to spend $75 million, some from the Utility Fund, to prevent the toxins from popping up in City drinking water again, all while working towards a permanent fix.

“The big plan is to install a new ozone treatment facility at our existing Geren Island treatment plant,” she says.

The $40 million ozone treatment system proposal would see construction in 2021, which Dimke calls a "state of the art treatment system,” a lot stronger than chlorine.

“It essentially just removes the concerns; the pathogens,” she says.

But, in the meantime, other treatments are in place until the plan is fully approved by the city council.

“We have multiple barriers in place, so we are hoping that cyanotoxins don't again get through, but we certainly cannot rule that out,” she says.

Dimke explains the City has made channel improvements at the Geren Island water plant, creating a larger area for powder activated carbon and additional chlorine if treatment is needed, and expanding ground water wells.