Public Meeting Recap – April 22, 2026
A public meeting was held to share a progress update on the Morrow and Umatilla Counties Drinking Water Roadmap Project. The project team provided an overview of recent work, including evaluation of potential drinking water solutions and alternative options, and outlined next steps toward developing an action plan.
A Roadmap for Safe Drinking Water
Morrow and Umatilla Counties are facing a decades-long problem with elevated levels of nitrate in
groundwater in northern parts of the two counties. This affects thousands of rural residents who rely on wells
for drinking water. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (EPA) designated the affected region as
the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) when problems were first recognized
in 1990.
Through a joint effort of Morrow and Umatilla Counties, the Drinking Water Roadmap Project was launched in
2024 to study safe and reliable drinking water solutions for domestic well users. The Roadmap Project is
funded through a research grant from the EPA and is being managed by the Morrow County Planning
Director (“Principal Investigator” under the EPA grant) with a consultant team led by GSI Water Solutions, Inc.
to conduct the work.
Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area
Why It Matters
Find Lasting Solutions
The Drinking Water Roadmap is a multi-stage effort to identify long-term solutions for residents of Morrow and Umatilla Counties who rely on private wells for drinking water. Elevated nitrate levels have been a decades-long challenge in parts of the LUBGWMA, and this project aims to turn years of data into practical solutions that ensure safe and reliable drinking water for the future
Timeline: Through 2026
The Drinking Water Roadmap is being conducted in four stages over 2 ½ years. Stage 1 began in Spring 2024 and focused on developing workplans, initial water sampling and data gathering, preliminary outreach to well owners, and conducting baseline assessments of the study area.
The drinking water roadmap is now in the final stage of the project that incorporates the findings of potential feasible solutions in a Drinking Water Action Plan (DWAP) that will be available in August 2026.
This plan will present recommendations for implementing long-term solutions to address nitrate contamination in domestic wells in the region.
