Make sure your water is safe

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A hand holding a clear water glass under a running sink faucet

Do you get your water from a well?

Protect your family. Get free tests, water and treatment.

Your well water quality might be dangerous to your health.

Contact us

Call 211 for help with your FREE well water test.

Make sure your water is safe.

Apply for a Testing Voucher

Use your testing voucher to get a free well water test.

Call 211

Online Well Testing Voucher Application

Printable Application

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Nitrate levels above 10 milligrams per liter are

One red box reading unsafe/inseguro with a baby driking from a bottle, water from a tap flowing into a glass. ice cubes in a glass, water boiling. Blue box that reads safe/seguro with watering car atering plants, bathtub, clean dishes, a washing machine.

You can get a FREE test if

Your property well is in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGMWA) of Morrow and Umatilla Counties.
Your well water is used for drinking, bathing, cooking and washing dishes.
Your well is not part of a public water system.

You will not be asked to share your US citizenship status in this application and you can recieve a test no matter your status.

A person rolling two blue water jugs on a dolly

FREE Household Water Delivery

We will sign you up for delivery of FREE bottled water for drinking and cooking if your test results show nitrate above 10 milligrams per liter (mg/L) of water.

Why should I test my well water?

High levels of nitrate in the water you use for drinking and cooking can cause long- and short-term health effects. Infants fed baby formula mixed with high levels of nitrate-contaminated water are at risk for blue baby syndrome, a condition causing decreased ability of red blood cells to carry oxygen.
Breast milk is safe for infants even if the water the mother is drinking has high level of nitrate.
Women who are pregnant or may become pregnant should not drink nitrate-contaminated water. There is some evidence that drinking water with high levels of nitrate can increase the risks of miscarriag and certain birth defects.
There is also weak and inconclusive evidence that long-term consumption of nitrate above 10mg/L may increase the risk of:

Thyroid issues
Cancer of the stomach or bladder

A high level of nitrate is any level above 10 milligrams per liter of water and is not safe to drink or cook with.

Nitrate and your health

Summary information on nitrate testing, treatment, and water delivery updated monthly

Below are tables presenting the best available summary information on domestic wells testing in the LUBGWMA.

For more information about the data that OHA is collecting related to domestic well testing in the LUBGWMA, please read this memo from Gabriela Goldfarb, OHA’s Environmental Public Health Section Manager.

Household Nitrate Test Results Through March 31, 2024

Nitrate Range	Morrow	Umatilla	Total
0 to 4.99 mg/L	202	796	998
5 to 9.99 mg/L	130	299	429
10 to 25 mg/L	89	178	267
Above 25 mg/L	84	60	144
TOTALS	505	1333	1838

Households with Nitrate Test Results Above 10 mg/L Through March 31, 2024

Nitrate Range	Morrow	Umatilla	Total
10 to 25 mg/L	89	178	267
Above 25 mg/L	84	60	144
TOTALS	173	238	411
Total high results as percent of all samples	34%	18%	22%

Water Treatment Installations Through March 31, 2024

Morrow	Umatilla	Total
52	24	76
58% of eligible*	13% of eligible*	28% of total eligible*

* Reverse osmosis water treatment systems are certified to remove nitrate only up to approximately 25 mg/L, so are only effective in households testing between 10 to 25 mg/L nitrate. Households with water testing above 25 mg/L must rely on bottled water delivery. Plumber workforce constraints have limited the pace of installations.

Households Receiving Water Delivery Through March 31, 2024

Morrow	Umatilla	Total
269	191	460

Map of the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGMWA)