Flowing Forward: Collaboration and Community Driving Solutions in the LUBGWMA

Our blog series Flowing Forward aims to provide a closer and more digestible look, along with expert commentary, on specific areas of progress being made throughout the Basin. Simply put, we are highlighting ongoing progress because this is a story that deserves to be told.

Having ran state air and water quality protection programs in two different states and responding to such public health emergencies as the Zika virus, bird flu, and Ebola, I know what it takes to respond to public health emergencies. The work that the Oregon Department of Human Services, Morrow County Public Health Department, and the Umatilla County Health Department have done in response to concerns of nitrates in private domestic water wells in the Lower Umatilla Basin has been unprecedented.

As of January 31st, 2026, more than 2,100 nitrate tests have been performed, over 290 water treatment systems have been installed, and 621 homes are receiving bottled water delivery even if their nitrate tests did not show nitrate concentrations above the safe drinking level of 10mg/l. This work was accomplished by boots on the ground efforts like knocking on doors and talking to residents about water quality. It has also involved coordinating treatment system installations and managing millions of dollars in funds. They accomplished this work despite consistent criticism from community groups who purported to be partners but have continuously publicly criticized the state and county’s work misrepresenting both the extent and cause of the nitrate issue in the media. Even with this unconstructive narrative, we have seen close collaboration between the state, counties, volunteers and outreach specialists, and local businesses that are focused on gathering data that leads to both short and long-term solutions for our community.

There are few things more important than access to safe, clean drinking water. There are numerous public and private entities working to address public health concerns and the underlying groundwater nitrate concentration issue itself. This issue was created generations ago, well before the Groundwater Management Area designation in 1990, and we are working today to fix an issue created decades ago. This has included adoption of first of its kind agricultural water quality regulations and the passing of laws to modernize how the state responds to groundwater quality issues in the future.

Thank you to the Oregon Department of Human Services, Morrow County Public Health Department, and the Umatilla County Health Department for all of your work.

Want to take a deeper dive into progress being made in the short and long-term? Visit our progress page.