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On hot summer days, the Clackamas River draws large crowds of simmers and floaters, many with coolers of alcohol.

(Clackamas County Sheriff's Office/2008)

The Clackamas County commissioners have had enough of the heavy-drinking hordes that float the Clackamas River on hot days, leaving litter, vulgar language and fights in their wake.

Alcohol has been banned in county parks since 2010, but clever river regulars have learned that the county ordinance has loopholes big enough to allow packed coolers slip through to the river.

But probably not for long.

The commissioners on Tuesday asked staff attorneys to draft an ordinance allowing park workers and sheriff's deputies to search park visitors' coolers for booze. They also asked attorneys to explore the idea of establishing a float-permit system on the river that would limit traffic to more manageable numbers.

Thousands of beer and other beverage cans line the bottom of the Clackamas River east of Oregon City.

Commissioners said the volatile combination of crowding and alcohol on the river has led to brawls and extensive littering, covering some stretches of river bottom with thousands of cans and bottles -- empty and full. On a recent tour of the area, the commissioners saw a fight break out.

"Its deplorable -- the garbage, the filth," said Commissioner Paul Savas. "It's not the pristine river that we know."

The commissioners' comments drew applause from Damascus-area residents who own homes along the river. Over the past few years, they said, their backyards have deteriorated from a peaceful paradise to a parade route of repulsive chaos, reaching a crescendo during the long summer evenings.

"You wouldn't believe the language," said Bill Dayton, who lives off Oregon 224 near Kipling Rock. "This gets to be really hard on families," Dayton said. "My friends don't come around very often anymore. We don't barbecue on Sundays, like we used to."

Tom Geertsen, a Clackamas County reserve deputy said the cool, clear-running river, which provides a refuge for endangered anadromous fish and drinking water for several cities, degenerates into "Fort Lauderdale on spring break, any day it's over 80 degrees."

Undersheriff Matt Ellington said most of the river users put in at

and float downstream to the

or may stretch their float by starting farther upstream at the

.

He said many bring in coolers full of beer, but tell the county parks employees that they aren't carrying any alcohol. Then, after loading the coolers into their assorted watercraft, they crack open their beers, which is legal according to Oregon State Marine Board regulations.

Ellington urged the commissioners to give county employees and deputies the ability to search coolers and other containers that could hide alcohol. Anyone who refuses a search would be excluded from the park.

County Chairman John Ludlow said a permit system has worked well on the Deschutes River, restoring sanity to an almost-out-of-control situation during hot summer months. Ludlow said he and his family floated and camped along the river for years, watching conditions along the Deschutes gradually degrade until permits were required.

"It's much better now," Ludlow said.

Both proposed ordinances will be discussed in upcoming work sessions, Ludlow said.

Traffic and bad behavior first hit the headlines in 2007, when an estimated 5,000 people crowded onto the river on the Fourth of July, resulting in a near-riot. It took 25 law enforcement officers to quell alcohol-fueled brawls among rafters and, eventually, shut down Barton and Carver parks. Police issued more than 50 citations and arrested at least four people, including one person who hit another with a canoe paddle while families fled.

Three years later, the commissioners banned alcohol from county parks, making exceptions for visitors who obtain permits for camping, picnicking or special events.

-- Rick Bella