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Stretching out deep underground,
it works to keep our river clean
while swimmers race, tubers chain round:
Willametteâs hero, unheard, unseen.
Now as it helps us enjoy summer
oâer a diseased river we need not fret;
the riverâs clean, its valiant plumber
a noble Big Pipe we mustnât forget.
Back when Portland was so young,
into that river Willamette
the people here thought nought and flung
their scraps and trashâeverything, dammit.
Water swirled and bred infection,
a situation we could not abide.
At last there came time for correction
to stem the noxious, sordid tide.
In â51 we got our wish,
a treatment plant where all filth goes.
But such great pain hard rain could dish,
when it brought septic overflows.
Ten billion gallons every year
with waste our river was attacked;
the people couldnât help but fear,
but then came the Clean Water Act.
In â91 our champions sued,
the city finally set a date;
raw-sewage leaks would be subdued,
just 20 years weâd have to wait.
With great plans and big investment,
the people stood by with concern,
and after long and slow assessment,
two tunnels would be dug by worm.
Though they had no federal backing,
the pits they dug seemed near to hell;
they kept on through the dirt attacking,
so Willamette could be well.
In oh-11 at last they finished,
and though no different did it look,
the peopleâs joy never diminished,
for our raw sewage was now cooked.
Now while we boat and swim and race,
with little sewage, sickness, gripe,
a cleanish river does our city grace,
joyous Willamette; thanks, Big Pipe!
it works to keep our river clean
while swimmers race, tubers chain round:
Willametteâs hero, unheard, unseen.
Now as it helps us enjoy summer
oâer a diseased river we need not fret;
the riverâs clean, its valiant plumber
a noble Big Pipe we mustnât forget.
Back when Portland was so young,
into that river Willamette
the people here thought nought and flung
their scraps and trashâeverything, dammit.
Water swirled and bred infection,
a situation we could not abide.
At last there came time for correction
to stem the noxious, sordid tide.
In â51 we got our wish,
a treatment plant where all filth goes.
But such great pain hard rain could dish,
when it brought septic overflows.
Ten billion gallons every year
with waste our river was attacked;
the people couldnât help but fear,
but then came the Clean Water Act.
In â91 our champions sued,
the city finally set a date;
raw-sewage leaks would be subdued,
just 20 years weâd have to wait.
With great plans and big investment,
the people stood by with concern,
and after long and slow assessment,
two tunnels would be dug by worm.
Though they had no federal backing,
the pits they dug seemed near to hell;
they kept on through the dirt attacking,
so Willamette could be well.
In oh-11 at last they finished,
and though no different did it look,
the peopleâs joy never diminished,
for our raw sewage was now cooked.
Now while we boat and swim and race,
with little sewage, sickness, gripe,
a cleanish river does our city grace,
joyous Willamette; thanks, Big Pipe!
GO: River events possible now that the Big Pipe cleaned up 94 percent of the sewage once overflowed into the Willamette include the Portland
Bridge Swim, a group swim along an 11-mile route from Sellwood to St.
Johns. July 21. 7:30 am. $125-$210. See portlandbridgeswim.com for more
information. The Big Float, a group float on inner tubes from Marquam
Beach to the Hawthorne Bridge, is July 28. 9 am. $5-$125. See
thebigfloat.com for more information.
WWeek 2015