“Oregon county declares emergency over water contamination”

June 11, 2022 Oregon Rural Action

Associated Press | June 11, 2022

A team from the nonprofit organization Oregon Rural Action is assisting the county and has tested tap water in about 60 homes in Boardman and Irrigon. The team found almost all were above the federal safe drinking water limit and dozens were five times that limit, according to Kristin Anderson Ostrom, the group’s executive director. Zaira Sanchez, ORA’s director of organizing, said it was hard to deliver test results. “The common response from the community was immediate shock and concern,” she said. Sanchez said some families boil their water, but that could worsen the problem. She added some families are already spending up to $100 a month purchasing bottled water. ORA board member and former DEQ administrator Mitch Wolgamott, who has been working with Anderson Ostrom and Sanchez, said this is the first-time elected officials have stepped up and highlighted this issue. But he said the response doesn’t go far enough.