Oregon health Q&A: How to check if Willamette River water is fine to swim, paddle in

Questions are answered by experts at the Oregon Health Authority, other state agencies or community partners. Questions and answers are republished by permission.

Q: I want to kayak, inner-tube and swim in the Willamette River in downtown Portland, but how can I learn if the water is safe on a specific day I am looking to do so? – Francis, Portland

A: Francis, when it comes to the Willamette River, the City of Portland’s Bureau of Environmental Services conducts weekly summertime E. coli and temperature testing at five locations along the river, weather permitting, with results posted every Friday. You can sign up to receive those weekly test results here. They also conduct monthly testing at eight Willamette locations year-round.

OHA monitors freshwater areas for cyanotoxins and harmful algae blooms (in partnership with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality), and it does so for only a small portion of Oregon’s lakes and rivers.

However, when these dangers are detected in any freshwater location in Oregon, including the Willamette, we will issue an advisory or precaution and post it to our website here (and on this map). You can also sign up to receive those alerts via email or text here.

However, conditions can change quickly, so it’s important to recognize the signs of a bloom. People should stay out of the water, and keep their pets out of the water, if the water looks foamy, scummy, like spilled paint, green, blue-green, pea-green, brownish red, or where green globs can be seen in the water, or where mats are growing on rocks or sand or accumulating along the shore.

We encourage people to report blooms or related human or animal illnesses directly to OHA using forms found on our website.

Q: Do you have an update on the COVID-19 vaccine? There was a new variant in California. Will a new vaccine be available? – Julie, Newberg

A: Julie, the COVID-19 virus mutates frequently and there are many variants circulating worldwide at any given time. You may be referring to Omicron NB.1.8.1—an emerging variant that is increasing globally. It has not yet been detected in Oregon patients or wastewater, but we do anticipate that it likely will be in the coming weeks to months.

Because NB.1.8.1 is still part of the Omicron family, the current 2024-2025 COVID-19 vaccine should still help protect against severe disease. People can continue to protect themselves from COVID-19 through vaccination, masking, hand-washing, and avoiding crowded indoor settings.

According to the World Health Organization, at this time there is no evidence that NB.1.8.1 causes more severe disease than other circulating variants.

Regarding a new COVID-19 vaccine for the 2025-2026 respiratory virus season, manufacturers are in the process of developing it based on currently circulating Omicron COVID-19 virus strains. We’ll have to wait for guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) on specific recommendations for the public once the updated vaccine is released, likely this fall. (Please see our statement about recent changes at the CDC.)

If you have questions about health topics for the Oregon Health Authority, submit your question here. Although the agency is unable to answer every question, it will try to address those of interest to a broad audience. Please understand that OHA is unable to provide specific medical advice for personal medical conditions.