Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area
The Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, or LUBGWMA, is about 550 square miles in northern Morrow and northwestern Umatilla counties. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality designated it a groundwater management area in 1990 because of high levels of nitrate contamination in the groundwater. The LUBGWMA is a focal point for efforts to address elevated nitrate levels that threaten drinking water supplies, local ecosystems, and public health.
Nitrate contamination is a complex problem for rural communities across Oregon and the entire nation, with no easy or quick fix.
With multiple sources of nitrate contamination, including agricultural fertilizer, manure, septic systems, and wastewater, the State of Oregon is committed to a coordinated and collaborative effort to reduce contamination and protect the health of people who live in the LUBGWMA.
Quick Links
Effective collaboration across multiple state agencies, counties, cities, federal agencies, tribal government, and other partners is fundamental to reducing nitrate concentrations in the LUBGWMA.
The Nitrate Reduction Plan outlines the state’s key strategies to reduce groundwater nitrate concentrations to less than 7 mg/L in the LUBGWMA and protect people’s health in the immediate term.
The Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area Committee works with and advises state agencies in the development of action plans to reduce existing groundwater contamination and prevent further contamination.
Facts and Stats
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Square
Miles
The Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area (LUBGWMA) is about 550 square miles in northern Morrow and northwestern Umatilla counties that includes the communities of Hermiston, Boardman, Irrigon, Stanfield, Echo, and surrounding areas.
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State Agencies
Because of their distinct but complementary roles related to nitrate reduction and safe drinking water, Oregon Health Authority, Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Agriculture, and Oregon Water Resources Department work together to strategize nitrate reduction in groundwater, protect public health, and continuously adjust based on ongoing data collection and analysis.
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Primary Sources of Nitrate
The most common sources of nitrate contamination in the LUBGWMA are agricultural fertilizer, large dairy and cattle farms, animal pastures, wastewater from food processing facilities, and septic systems.
Connect With Us
For general inquiries, please contact DEQCommunications@deq.oregon.gov
For access to immediate public health services, resources and well testing, please email Domestic.Wells@odhsoha.oregon.gov or call 541-952-9254.
This website is maintained collaboratively by DEQ, ODA, OHA and OWRD.
