Drinking Water, Sewage Troubles Follow Flood
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PORTLAND, Ore. — Residents of the Pacific Northwest faced drinking water shortages and failed sewage systems Saturday as flood waters receded slowly in most areas but inundated an exclusive Portland suburb.
Most rivers in western Oregon and Washington had crested Friday, but the Tualatin River continued to rise until Saturday afternoon, defeating efforts to protect million-dollar homes in Lake Oswego, an affluent city of 33,000 just south of Portland.
A Federal Emergency Management Agency team began touring flooded areas to assess damage after President Clinton declared a major disaster in the two-state region. The flooding, the worst since 1964, killed at least five people and forced about 20,000 to evacuate their homes.
Most people were allowed to go home, but more than 20,000 Oregon residents were ordered to boil drinking water. Residents of the Portland suburbs of Oregon City, West Linn and Gladstone were told not to flush their toilets because of sewage treatment problems.
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