The Oregon Health Authority is encouraging people in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area to get their well water retested for nitrates for free, even those who tested it in 2023.
According to a press release from OHA, retesting households with well water close to the health action level of 10 milligrams nitrate per liter of water is especially important because nitrate levels can fluctuate during different seasons of the year.
Nitrate in well water is a potential health hazard, and levels above 10 milligrams per liter are considered dangerous for human consumption. Pregnant people and babies face the greatest risk, and young animals can be affected in the same way as babies.
The LUBGWMA region of northern Morrow and northwestern Umatilla counties has had high levels of nitrates in domestic well water for decades. OHA recommends testing as frequently as every few months for a year for households with nitrate levels over 5 mg/L, due to possible fluctuations.
To encourage retesting, the release said, OHA partnered with Morrow and Umatilla counties as well as community-based organizations to mail letters in English and Spanish on May 15, 2024, to about 1,600 households that completed nitrate testing in 2023.
On June 12, 2024, the same households received letters with individualized results of their past tests and a brochure to help them understand the results, as well as instructions outlining a time frame and frequency for retesting their well based on their previous results.
Households in the LUBGWMA with a laboratory nitrate test result above 10 mg/L can all receive free water deliveries.
For the households with well water tests higher than 10 mg/L but under 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 what is safe for drinking. These systems are not certified to reduce nitrates in wells with levels above 25 mg/L, the press release said.
OHA is coordinating the retesting outreach effort alongside Morrow County Public Health Department, Umatilla County Public Health Department, Oregon Department of Human Services, and many community organizations, including Doulas Latinas, Eastern Oregon Center for Independent Living, Euvalcree, National Center for Alternatives to Pesticides, Oregon Rural Action and Water for Eastern Oregon. These organizations can help connect domestic well users to the safe water services offered by the state through OHA.
