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.

Schedule Update (September 30, 2026)

Due to some additional reviews and information being added to the Draft Roadmap Action Plan, there have been some schedule changes in finalizing the document.

The following are the remaining key milestones for the Roadmap Project including opportunities to attend meetings related to the project:

  • October 12 or 19: Final steering committee meeting to finalize the Action Plan. Meeting date and time will be posted to the project website as soon as the date is confirmed with participants. This will be a hybrid meeting which is open to the general public.
  • October 30: Post final Action Plan to project website and distribution to counties state agencies.
  • November 11: Present final action plan to Morrow County Clean Water Consortium Board meeting.
  • November or December 2026: Present final action plan to the county commissioners at Morrow County and Umatilla County.

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.