Old, Leaking Sewer Pipes Alleged in Suit Against Oregon City

The City of Albany, Ore., is releasing sewage, bacteria, and other pollutants from old, leaking pipes into local water bodies in violation of its federal water pollution permits, a conservation group says in its lawsuit filed in an Oregon federal court.

The city’s waste discharge system has pipes that are more than 100 years old, wooden pipes, and abandoned pipes, according to the lawsuit filed by Willamette Riverkeeper Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon.

Albany has deferred maintenance and upgrades to the sewer system for several years, and it hasn’t mapped or taken an inventory ...