Human Access Project

08/28/2026

People have been asking what we mean by build the channels. Before 1926, Ross Island and Hardtack Island were two separate islands with the Willamette running clean between them.

That year the Army Corps of Engineers built an embankment connecting them, closing off the channel to deepen a shipping route.

Almost a hundred years later, that closed off water is why the lagoon turns toxic green every summer. No flow in, no flow out, just heat and stagnant water doing what stagnant water does.

We’ve spent years working with Oregon State University on the fix. Reopen the channel, let the river move through again.

We’re asking the state to help us build it toward life again.

Hope that helps explain it.

Thank you Edwin Nunez for the incredible photography. Horrifically beautiful.

08/27/2026

Friday Splashdown is canceled. Algae from Ross Island Lagoon has spread into the Willamette and it is not something to mess around with. Not for you, and especially not for your dog.

Stay out of the water. Watch for thick green scum, cloudy water, or a bad smell, and keep the dogs on shore too.

A river that’s supposed to be ours to swim in shouldn’t be shut down by a bloom that keeps coming back year after year. We’re done treating that as normal, and we’re pushing for a real fix so future seasons doesn’t end the same way. More on that soon.



📸 Eddy Nunez

08/25/2026

We didn’t book one band for this. We booked three. The Walkaways bring their chaos and horns. Top Shelf All Stars bring the funk. And The Gray Band, well, no photos exist of them, we’re told they’re real, you’ll just have to hear it to believe it.

Saturday, September 12 at Skylab Architecture. Three bands, one night, all for the river.

Join the Riverlution and grab your ticket.

Side note: the music is a royalty free soundtrack, not any of the bands.


📸 Courtesy of the artists

08/25/2026

The Beach Brigade at Duckworth Dock was a good one today🧡

Western Region United Way conference attendees brought the energy, heat and all. By the end we were all covered in river and ready for a shower.

This is the good kind of tired. Thank you to everyone who showed up and got their hands dirty for the riverlution. Let’s do it again.


📸 Therese Gietler

08/24/2026

Last Tuesday Splashdown of the season, and we’re going out big. The Daughters of Triton are joining us for an open-water synchronized swim performance at 6:30.. Sweet treats truck on-site too, made possible by our friends at MacKenzie.

Come say goodbye to Tuesdays the right way. Music, swimming, sugar and a whole beach full of people who showed up for the last one.

Friday Splashdown is still ahead, but this one’s for the Tuesday crew. See you at the beach.

📸 Dustin Pattison Dustin Pattison Photography

08/23/2026

Busy week at HAP, mark your calendars. Get your volunteerism on with us, then stick around because it’s our last week of river parties at Audrey McCall and Duckworth. Come get your hands dirty, then come get your feet wet, either way we want you there

📸 Dustin Pattison Dustin Pattison Photography

08/22/2026

We have a solution...

This is one of many articles in the Mercury’s 2026 Climate Issue. Find a print copy here, subscribe to get a copy mailed to you here, and if you’re feeling generous and want to keep these types of articles coming, support us here.—eds. When Willie Levenson moved to Portland three decades ago, ...

08/21/2026

Last Friday splashdown of the season, August 28.
One last chance to get in the river with your people before we close it out. Not this week though. Next week.

📸 Dustin Pattison Dustin Pattison Photography

08/19/2026

It’s so fun, why stop?

Down By The River is Saturday, September 12 at Skylab Architecture, and it’s for the people in these clips. The ones who show up & Splash Down.

We’ll have three bands & good food/drinks. Grab your tickets and your river buddies. Help us continue the party.

📸 Dustin Pattison Dustin Pattison Photography

08/19/2026

Tuesday Splashdown under way. Only one more left, next week!