Figure 2.6 Number of logs floated or rafted on the Yaquina River from 1918 to 1978 
(reproduced from Sedell and Duval, 1985). 
A combined sewage discharge with a pump station was constructed for Newport in the mid- 
1950s, which eliminated the direct discharge of sewage from Newport into Yaquina Estuary (Lee 
Ritzman, City of Newport, personal communication). A municipal sewage system with primary 
treatment and an offshore discharge was constructed in Newport in 1964, which has since been 
upgraded to secondary treatment. A combined stormwater/sewage system that discharged raw 
sewage into the Yaquina River was constructed in Toledo in 1926, and then upgraded in 1954 to 
a primary treatment facility to handle the municipal waste from the city of Toledo (T. 
McFetridge, ODEQ, personal communication). This facility, which discharges into the Yaquina 
Estuary (about 22 km from the mouth of the estuary), was upgraded to secondary treatment in 
1981. In the late 1980’s and early 1990’s, the City of Toledo made improvements to their 
stormwater collection system, reducing the bypassing of the treatment plant during high flow 
periods. In 1996, the Toledo plant had a discharge of 0.979 million gallons per day (MGD) with 
a design capacity of 3.5 MGD ( www.epa.gov/OW-OWM.html/mtb/cwns/1996report2/or.htm ). 
In addition to the Toledo municipal discharge, a number of houses along the Yaquina 
Estuary and River have on-site septic systems. The primary environmental impact of these 
septic systems appears to be microbial contamination which primarily affects the oyster industry 
in Yaquina Estuary. The lower portion of the Yaquina Estuary is impaired for shellfish growing 
16 
