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Comment by 31reasons | Hacker News Reader

>>what was surprising to me is that this is the first time I realized that the water in these reservoirs has already been processed

I don't believe this. If that was true the entire city would face massive health issues. What is your source of the info?

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In my Environmental Engineering class we learned that in the USA, unlike much of the rest of the world, water is chlorinated during the treatment process. The residual chlorine left in the water makes tap water less susceptible to contamination than other treatment methods. A quick google search indicates tap water in Portland is in fact chlorinated (actually, chloramined, which is even safer but has similar benefits), so a small amount of pathogens shouldn't make the water undrinkable.

>I don't believe this. If that was true the entire city would face massive health issues. What is your source of the info?

The city of Portland says so:

http://www.portlandoregon.gov/WATER/article/330807

A finished drinking water reservoir contains water that has been through all the treatment steps required by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act and can be delivered to the public without further treatment. Five of Portland’s finished drinking water reservoirs are uncovered. Three are located at Mount Tabor Park and two are located in Washington Park.

The Mount Tabor reservoir was the one in question.

That sounds like an altogether terrible idea. All it would take is several birds to fly over the water and it'll have fish in it. And then they'll go to the restroom and so on. :/

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