These new threats are far more complex, but every bit as serious. Today, I am asking for all Oregonians to renew their commitment to a clean Willamette River. Because the Willamette is not dying of a single grievous wound, rather, it is suffering the death of a thousand cuts. Let me describe the threat. At stake is not only our farmland and the viability of our transportation system, but the health of the Willamette River and its tributaries also.
Sprawl means roads, driveways, parking lots and roofs.
In a word, runoff. If so, you've been in this business too long. But you and I know that large industrial facilities along the Willamette are not the threat to water quality that non-point sources are. This wide range of contaminants, from sediment to motor oil to fertilizers and pesticides, are carried to the river by stormwater or groundwater. These non-point source pollutants are often difficult to capture, monitor, and treat.