September 2025 marked one year since the Oregon Nitrate Reduction Plan was released. In that time, significant progress has been made both on immediate and long-term solutions to manage nitrate issues in the LUBGWMA. This includes innovative, forward-thinking projects by counties as well as farmers and businesses, many of which go beyond the scope of the Nitrate Reduction Plan and nearly all of which require close collaboration with various state agencies. 
 

It may not always be easy to follow along with the work being done throughout the Basin, but it is happening and progress is being made on a regular basis. This page is aimed at providing straightforward updates on the progress being made around water quality in our region.​

​

Public health is being protected in the basin

​​

Immediate access to clean drinking water. These short-term achievements mark how the state, county and private businesses are making sure that every household in the community has access to clean drinking water. 

 

Private well testing is available to 100% of homes that request it. Since 2022, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) has been working with counties and community partners to educate private well owners and provide necessary support to ensure clean drinking water. To date, OHA has conducted more than 2,000 well tests. 

Source: Oregon Health Authority

​

100% of homes with elevated nitrate levels have access to alternative drinking water sources. Through a combination of state and county efforts, there are options available to any resident of Umatilla or Morrow County who would like either access to home filtration systems or drinking water home delivery – at no cost. 

o    To date, more than 250 systems have been installed and over 600 homes are receiving water delivery.

Source: Oregon Health Authority
 

New legislation modernizes groundwater management law. Legislation passed in 2025 creates an interagency approach to overseeing groundwater management areas. As you will read here, there are multiple agencies with distinct jurisdictions, but all are involved in LUBGWMA concerns. 

​

​

Oversight, review, and analysis of nitrate trends continue to give regulators and the public vital information. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) continues to update permits, conduct groundwater monitoring, and analyze trends in the region to ensure a steady stream of data are available to inform any new policies and solutions. 

 

Ongoing drinking well inspections help reduce risk. The Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) is conducting drinking water well inspections and requiring backflow prevention devices to make sure the wells themselves are not transporting nitrates to groundwater. 
 

Short-term achievements with long-term implications 

​

Port of Morrow is on track to onboard new lagoons, bringing increased storage capacity for process water. The Port of Morrow has invested in hundreds of millions of dollars into two massive lagoons to store water for reuse. Combined, the two lagoons will hold 1.6 billion gallons of water sent to the Port from local food processors, industries, and data centers. The lagoons are part of a larger, multi-million-dollar project to enhance the Port’s processing of industrial wastewater for beneficial agricultural reuse. Anaerobic digesters are already in place and advance planning is underway for a secondary water treatment system. The Port recently finished the first lagoon several months ahead of schedule. Read our blog post on what these upgrades mean for the Basin.

​

Increased reporting requirements for famers who apply nitrogen. As part of the Nitrate Reduction Plan, the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) has been working with a range of stakeholders, including farmers, on new rules that require each farm to have a nutrient management plan in place and available for review by ODA. Read our blog post to learn more about this process. 

​

• While not yet final, these new reporting requirements will provide regulators with additional information to ensure that producers are using best management practices to reduce the risk of nitrogen escaping the crop root zone.

​

Long-term solutions are complex, and may need additional understanding and investment

​​

Permanent alternatives to private well water are being explored for residents who live close to municipal water systems. There are collaborative efforts underway, spearheaded by Morrow and Umatilla counties, to understand feasibility of connecting residents of certain neighborhoods, including West Glen, to Boardman city water. This group is tasked with involving a range of stakeholders and exploring funding options to ensure that water access remains highly affordable to all residents. 

 

• Through a joint effort of Morrow and Umatilla Counties, the Drinking Water Roadmap Project was launched in 2024 to develop safe and reliable drinking water solutions for domestic well users. Currently, the project has completed its work analyzing options for the extension of municipal drinking water to neighborhoods in the basin. They are now looking at drinking water options for more remotely located residences, where extension of municipal drinking water is not an option.

 

• In February 2025, the Morrow County Clean Water Consortium (CWC) was formed with the mission to “Promote access to safe drinking water throughout unincorporated areas in Morrow County by funding, developing, and building projects to provide drinking water to residences affected by nitrate contamination.” With nearly $5 million in funding already committed, the Clean Water Consortium is exploring several options for funding infrastructure projects to mitigate the impacts of nitrate and provide clean drinking water to County residents. ​

​

Understanding the variation in the LUBGWMA is essential in driving meaningful and specific solutions. We need to do more research to understand the hydrology of the Lower Umatilla Basin, the legacy of groundwater contamination, and how to fix it. A recent study by Oregon State University dispelled the belief held by state agencies that the basin is one large aquifer. OSU found that the basin, as known by farmers in the basin for decades, is actually a series of aquifers with minimal connectivity. This understanding allows for discrete analysis to be performed in specific aquifers to determine the best way to reduce nitrate concentrations. Baseline groundwater quality in the aquifer can be measured, nitrate reduction projects implemented (aquifer recharge, land use assessments, etc.), and nitrate reductions quantified. Further research needs to be performed to better understand why we are seeing nitrate concentrations decreasing in some parts of the basin, while modestly increasing in others. Are these variations due to groundwater movement in the aquifer or due to any current nitrate loading?​

​

The LUBGWMA Committee, established pursuant to Oregon’s Groundwater Protection Act and appointed by DEQ, receives regular updates on the state’s implementation of its Nitrate Reduction Plan for the basin. Committee members can provide feedback to the agencies on plan implementation and best practices. 

 

Increased groundwater monitoring and analysis. On a quarterly basis, DEQ is sampling its long-term well network of about 30 wells. The agency also performs occasional larger-scale (synoptic) sampling events as resources allow. These data will continue to provide insight on which areas need to be prioritized in the ongoing work to improve water quality whether through connecting to clean drinking water infrastructure or aquifer recharge. 

Updating infrastructure. Morrow and Umatilla counties are working together to explore ways to bring clean drinking water directly to residents. These improvement projects are not directly part of the Nitrate Reduction Plan and are not intended to be a replacement for the work to actually reduce and remove nitrates from the LUBGWMA, but their parallel trajectory is another step .

 

Explore new methods that are able to actually reduce nitrate levels with aquifer recharge projects that remove high nitrate groundwater and recharge aquifers with fresh clean water. While farmers today utilize an array of tools to manager water responsibly, even the most innovative and efficient agricultural practices are not enough to meaningfully reduce nitrate levels that have existed for many decades.  

​​

Partner Resources

​

Even before the Nitrate Reduction Plan, H2OEO has worked closely with state agencies, counties, and local businesses to ensure that our community has access to the latest updates and resources.

​

• Oregon Health Authority (OHA)

• Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA)
• Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
• Oregon Water Resources Department (WRD)
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Morrow County
• Umatilla County