The thick, green layer of toxin-producing algae currently growing on the Willamette River south of downtown Portland is not just a public health issue but a reminder to Willie Levenson of “a total bureaucratic failure.”

That’s for a couple of reasons. First, Levenson, founder of the Portland-based nonprofit Human Access Project, said he alerted the Oregon Health Authority of the bloom Friday, Aug. 8, but the agency didn’t issue a public health advisory warning people and pets to stay away until Monday night. On Wednesday, the agency extended the advisory to cover roughly 15 miles of the Willamette downriver to Kelley Point Park, where it nearly meets the Columbia River.

“They let the whole weekend go by with people in that water,” Levenson said. Cyanobacteria produced by the algae ca

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