Human waste spills into Willamette River as Portland’s Big Pipe maxes out during atmospheric river

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – As a strong atmospheric river makes its way through the Pacific Northwest, residents have braced themselves for flooding, downed trees, and power outages. Now add sewage to the list.

The City of Portland has issued a combined sewer overflow (CSO) advisory for the Willamette River, meaning the Big Pipe is at max capacity and could spill over into the major waterway.

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The CSO, which began at 3:15 a.m., impacts the stretch of the Willamette River downstream of the Ross Island Bridge. It remains in effect as of Tuesday afternoon.

The Christmas Ships Parades on both the Willamette and Columbia Rivers were canceled on Tuesday due to the debris in the water…

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