Amid Umatilla Basin nitrate crisis, Oregon Health Authority mails drinking water test trips to untested households

PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority and partner organizations are mailing more drinking water test strips to Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) households and urging them to find out if their well water is exposing them to high levels of nitrate.

The LUBGWMA is an area spanning northern Morrow County and northwestern Umatilla County designated by the state due to high nitrate in groundwater that supplies domestic wells.

The focus of this latest outreach effort, which began April 25, is on more than 1,000 domestic well users living in the LUBGWMA who were not home when canvassers visited previously or whose properties were posted with “No Trespassing” signs.

OHA has twice, in the last few weeks, mailed nitrate information and test strips to these residents, encouraging them to contact OHA if the test strip turns pink when exposed to well water – indicating potentially high nitrate levels – to request a free laboratory analysis of their well water.

Nitrate in well water is a potential health hazard, and nitrate levels above 10 milligrams per liter(mg/L) are considered dangerous for human consumption. Pregnant people and babies face the greatest risk. 

Last year, in response to concerns about high levels of nitrate in domestic well water in parts of Morrow and Umatilla counties, state and local health agencies and local community organizations went door to door in the LUBGWMA to offer free well water testing. Volunteers from both counties and community-based organizations who went door to door respected “No Trespassing” signs. In addition, a number of residents were not home after three attempts to make contact by canvassers.

“We believe a large number of households in the LUBGWMA that rely on domestic wells for drinking water are people we weren’t able to reach during last year’s outreach campaign when state, county and community partner canvassers stopped by,” said Gabriela Goldfarb, manager of OHA’s Environmental Public Health Section and the state’s LUBGWMA public health project manager.

Goldfarb said by offering the free test strips that people can use on their own, “we hope we are making it as easy as possible for them to learn if their well water is safe so they can access help to protect their families.” Morrow County used test strips when the county issued a domestic well emergency declaration in the latter half of 2022.

“You can’t see, taste, or smell nitrate, so you don’t know if your water is contaminated. But when you see the test strip turn pink in seconds, you know you need to test your well and drink bottled water to be safe,” said Zaira Sanchez, director of community organizing at Oregon Rural Action. Like Morrow County, the organization has used rapid test strips in local outreach since 2022.

Whether or not they received a test strip, anyone who resides in the LUBGWMA can get a free laboratory analysis of their well water by visiting the website testmywell.oregon.gov or emailing Domestic.Wells@odhsoha.oregon.gov. They can also call the OHA Domestic Well Safety Program at 541-952-9254.

Households with a laboratory nitrate test result above 10 mg/L can receive free water delivery. For households whose well water tests higher than 10 mg/L but below 25 mg/L, the state will pay for installation and maintenance of one in-home reverse-osmosis system that is certified to reduce nitrate levels to safe for drinking (treatment systems are not certified to remove nitrate at levels above 25 mg/L).

OHA is coordinating the test strip outreach effort in close partnership with Morrow County Public Health Department, Umatilla County Public Health Department, Oregon Department of Human Services, and many community organizations: Doulas Latinas, Eastern Oregon Center for Independent Living, Euvalcree, National Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Oregon Rural Action and Water for Eastern Oregon (H2OEO). These organizations can help connect domestic well users to the safe water services offered by the state through OHA.

"We're grateful for Oregon Health Authority's support of the local community, and are encouraging all our employees, friends and neighbors to take advantage of opportunities to get their water tested," said Justin Green, executive director of H2OEO, a coalition of area businesses.