Sounds like a brine idea

Newport’s new drinking water source is well worth its salt

Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer and State Rep. Dave Gomberg

By Patrick Alexander

Oregon Coast TODAY

As communities along the West Coast adapt to the realities of a changing climate, ensuring safe and reliable supplies of drinking water has become a top priority for many local officials.

Perhaps no coastal town is as familiar with this challenge as Newport, where surging summer visitor numbers put a strain on the city’s Big Creek Reservoir, whose earthen dams are at risk of failure in the event of an earthquake.

But now an innovative project is set to put Newport on a path toward water security, while also helping the town maintain a distinctive coastal flavor.

“The idea came to me when my kids were here for a visit and we took them out kayaking on the estuary,” said Newport Mayor Dean Sawyer. “While we were sitting there surrounded by all that water, I thought to myself ‘why the heck are we messing around with dams?’”

Sawyer called up State Rep. Dave Gomberg and laid out his plan for a win-win deal — allow the city to pull water right out of the Yaquina Estuary and Sawyer would donate the surplus earth from Big Creek Dam to help shore up failing sections of Highway 101 all along the coast.

“At first I thought it was just another of Dean’s crazy ideas,” Gomberg said. “But the more he talked, the more sense it made. If we can stabilize that highway while helping the community of Newport become more resilient then I don’t see how we could say no.”

The Yaquina Estuary is home to millions of gallons of water, more than enough to keep showers flowing and toilets flushing even on Newport’s busiest summer day.

Installing an intake pipe to allow the estuary water to flow into the city’s distribution network would be the easy part, but Sawyer’s plan still had one major obstacle — salt. But the mayor, known for his outside-the-box thinking, refused to be daunted.

“I see that as less of a bug than a feature,” Sawyer said. “Everything you see and read about food and drink these days is about what they call ‘terroir,’ a kind of distinct flavor that gives a place its own identity. Well, here in Newport, I’d say we’re pretty salty.”

In fact, Sawyer hopes to use the sodium-rich supply as a marketing tool for the city, rebranding the famous “Newport the Friendliest” welcome signs to read “Newport the Saltiest.”

Meanwhile, a series of filters will help strain out some of the larger particles from the water, catching everything from seaweed to tiny fish to sea lion poop before it makes its way into the pipes.

And, Gomberg added, there is potential for the area to see some economic development by monetizing the byproducts of the filtering process.

“I’m told that the muck extracted by the filters can be dried and formed into something similar in consistency to a Cliff Bar,” he said, “and packing the same protein punch, albeit with a rather different flavor.”

At least one local business has wasted no time in getting on board. Good Buoy Beer, which opened its doors in Newport during the pandemic, is rebranding its lineup to match the new water source.

“Water is obviously one of the main ingredients in beer,” said Crystal Hops, the company’s engagement coordinator. “The opportunity to work with water that speaks so strongly to our coastal identity just got the wheels spinning in Brewmaster Jim Pils’ head.”

Pils is planning to celebrate Newport’s new briny water supply with a fresh series of brews, including Full Frontal A-salt IPA, One Brine Day Amber, High Sodium Stout and Our Dankest Hour Dopplebock.

Tastings of Pils’ first new creation, Baywater Blueberry Sour, will be on offer alongside some experimental filter-muck cookies at a ribbon-cutting celebration for the new water project at noon this Friday, April 1, at city hall.

Newport City Hall is located at 169 SW Coast Hwy. For more reliable details about the city’s water system, go to www.newportoregon.gov.