City of Salem: Water is safe to drink, social media rumors about toxin levels are false
Updated 5:50 p.m. June 15:
Low levels of cyanotoxins, at levels that don't trigger state health advisories, have been detected at the entry point to Salem's Geren Island water treatment plant.
Test results from samples taken Saturday morning showed the water leaving the treatment system and entering Salem's drinking water system remains safe to drink, city spokesman Kenny Larson said.
Social media rumors that the water is unsafe are false, Larson said.
The city has been working since Friday afternoon to dispel the rumors. Accurate information about test results can be found on the city's drinking water website at https://www.cityofsalem.net/drinking-water.
Original story:
Algae toxins have been identified in Detroit Lake several times over the past two weeks, but so far the toxins have not made it further downstream and Salem's water remains safe to drink, according to testing done by the city of Salem.
The first detection of the year was made in the Blowout Arm area of Detroit Lake on May 30, with subsequent detections at Log Boom on June 5, 7 and 10.
"We haven’t seen any cyanotoxins at the intake into the water treatment facility. It’s not coming down-river," said city spokesman Kenny Larson. "Obviously, we’re watching this very closely."
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The city is conducting water testing five days per week at several locations in Detroit Lake and on the North Santiam River.
The most closely watched water testing locations are at the intake to the Geren Island Water Treatment Facility and the so-called Aldersgate — the point where treated drinking water enters Salem's drinking water distribution system.
Water test results from those two locations are regularly posted to the City of Salem's website.
So far this year, no toxins have been recorded above detectable levels at either location.
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Cyanotoxins are a toxin produced by blue-green algae that can be dangerous to people and animals when ingested at high concentrations over time.
While algae blooms are commonplace at Detroit Lake, last year city officials were caught flat-footed when cyanotoxins from a harmful algae bloom appeared in Salem's drinking water for the first time at amounts above the EPA advisory level for vulnerable people.
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A drinking water advisory for vulnerable populations was issued May 29, 2018 — four days after Salem Public Works staff became aware of the problem — and lifted on June 2 after tests showed lower cyanotoxin levels for several consecutive days. A second advisory was placed June 6 after cyanotoxins once again spiked above safe levels for vulnerable populations. It lasted until July 3.
The City of Salem has spent much of the past year developing treatments for cyanotoxins.
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These tools include increasing chlorine levels to kill the toxins (and lowering it before the water heads toward Salem) and injecting powder activated carbon into the water to remove the toxins and allowing it to settle out.
By 2021, the city hopes to deploy an ozone treatment system, which is widely used in water treatment for a variety of purposes.
Contact Connor Radnovich at cradnovich@statesmanjournal.com or 503-399-6864, or follow him on Twitter at @CDRadnovich