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April 14, 2023
Media contacts: Jonathan Modie, 971-246-9139, PHD.Communications@oha.oregon.gov
New funding means Umatilla, Morrow county residents in Lower Umatilla Basin can submit vouchers for foreseeable future so they can learn nitrate exposure levels
PORTLAND, Ore.—Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has lifted deadlines for domestic well users in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) to submit applications for free water testing to help determine their risk of exposure to nitrate and other contaminants.
OHA is now accepting testing voucher applications for the foreseeable future – the vouchers no longer must be submitted by May 15, and they do not expire June 7.
The vouchers cover testing for nitrate, arsenic, bacteria, lead, iron, manganese and hardness. Applications are available at http://bit.ly/3xzx1cp. They also can be accessed from OHA’s LUBGWMA page in both English and Spanish; by emailing Domestic.Wells@odhsoha.oregon.gov; or by calling 971-673-0440.
Households in the LUBGWMA that rely on domestic well water for drinking and cooking, and with nitrate test results above 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of water, are eligible to receive water deliveries. Households with high test results – between 10 mg/L and 25 mg/L of nitrate – can get vouchers for in-home water treatment systems. End-of-tap treatment systems are not effective when nitrate levels are above 25 mg/L or may not produce enough water to meet the needs of larger households.
Water with nitrate levels up to 10 mg/L is considered safe for all uses, including drinking, cooking and toothbrushing. Water with more than 10 mg/L is safe for other uses, such as bathing, washing dishes, laundry and garden irrigation, and also for toothbrushing by adults and older children who can brush without swallowing water.
Since March 3, OHA has distributed 87 vouchers for free well water tests, including 55 for Morrow County and 32 for Umatilla County. OHA has received 33 laboratory reports, and of those, 24 households tested above 10 mg/L nitrate.
So far, a total of 179 well users in Morrow County are receiving water deliveries – many began receiving deliveries after the county tested 500 wells in 2022 – with funding from the Oregon Department of Human Services. Data on water deliveries in Umatilla County are not yet available.
An estimated 4,500 wells are used for drinking water in the LUBGWMA. Some wells serve multiple households. OHA estimates about 80% of the wells are in Umatilla County and 20% are in Morrow County.
The LUBGWMA is an area that spans the northern portions of Morrow and Umatilla counties along the Columbia River and encompasses the cities of Hermiston, Boardman, Irrigon, Stanfield, Echo and nearby unincorporated areas. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) designated the LUBGWMA in 1990 under Oregon’s Groundwater Quality Protection Act of 1989 due to regional nitrate-nitrogen concentrations in groundwater that exceeded 7 mg/L.
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