Salem’s water continues to be clean and safe to drink. The North Santiam River is Salem’s source of drinking water. There is no risk to the City’s drinking water from the fuel spill which occurred on Sunday, February 16, 2020 when a tanker truck overturned on Highway 22 about 70 miles east of Salem. The location of the spill is up river from the dams on the North Santiam, which are up river from Salem’s Stayton area water treatment plant.
In addition to a team of City Fire Department’s hazardous materials team and Public Works Environmental Response team, officials from the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and from Oregon Department of Transportation were immediately on-site to contain the spill. Clean up has continued into Monday.
The location of the spill allowed Salem’s water treatment staff to adjust treatment procedures at the water treatment plant to ensure the drinking water remains safe for Salem residents and customers. Salem has stored river water for these situations. The City’s reservoirs have enough treated water to meet Salem’s water customers during short duration events. The City’s new ozone treatment facility, which will remove contaminants including fuel, will be on-line in 2021.
Keep track of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality clean up process here: https://www.oregon.gov/newsroom/pages/Agency.aspx?page=0&pageSize=10&agency=DEQ
For updates on road conditions, consult Oregon Department of Transportation’s Trip Check https://www.tripcheck.com/ before you travel.
