Wastewater No Longer Flowing Into Yaquina Bay

A treated effluent pipeline in the city’s South Beach Area has been repaired, and the pipeline’s contents are no longer flowing into Yaquina Bay. The repair comes nearly two months after a leak was discmonitoring its stability and functionality throughout this week,” stated Newport Public Works Director Robert Moser. “This is an important infrastructure component to the city’s wastewater treatment system, and it was vital that we were able to provide a long-term repair for the benefit of our community and users of the bay. This was truly a coordinated effort from all of our Public Works teams to complete this project.”

Effluent wastewater is treated, chlorinated water. Newport Public Works worked with multiple state agencies, including the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), to ensure there were no impacts to wildlife or the ecosystem throughout the diversion to Yaquina Bay.

On Dec. 28, 2024, a weld that was completed on the pipeline in 2022 failed, causing a separation in the pipeline, and resulting in the diversion of treated wastewater from Newport’s wastewater treatment plant into Yaquina Bay at separate locations on the Bayfront and South Beach. Newport City Manager Nina Vetter declared a limited emergency on Dec. 30, and City Council voted to extend the declaration into February on Jan. 6, authorizing the use of funding needed to complete the repair.