Portland Won't Flush Water Teen Urinated Into, Choosing To Divert To Reservoir Instead

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The city of Portland has decided not to flush drinking water marred by a teenager's urine into sewers.

But the water still won't be going to customers' taps.

Instead, about 35 million gallons have been diverted to an unused reservoir to see how long it will be acceptable as a public water feature.

The city is phasing out the open reservoirs it has long relied on for city drinking water. Some residents, for aesthetic reasons, don't want to see empty reservoirs, so officials decided to see what happens when uncirculated water is left in one.

The teen was caught on camera two weeks ago appearing to urinate into a reservoir.

Test samples of the water came back clean, but the city still decided not to serve it to customers.