FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
September 14, 2022

PRESS RELEASE 

Morrow Community Meeting for Safe Water

County Commissioner and public health offer an update on the County’s response and with community members request state support 

Boardman, Oregon -- 

Following the June 2022 Morrow County-declared Water Emergency, Oregon Rural Action and community members will host a Safe Rural Water Community meeting on Thursday, September 15th from 6:00 - 7:00 pm at Sam Boardman Elementary School located at 301 Wilson Lane in Boardman. Doors open at 5:30 pm. 

County Commissioner Jim Doherty and the county’s public health department will provide updated information on the county’s response to access safe water and filtration systems for people whose wells have tested high for nitrates. Debbie Radie of the Boardman Business Coalition will speak to their efforts and an overall commitment to ensuring safe drinking water for area residents.  U.S. Senator Merkley will offer a message on the federal response and staff will represent U.S. Senator Wyden at the event.  

Most state legislative representatives were unavailable as were state agency officials from the Oregon Health Authority and Oregon Department of Environmental Quality with regulatory authority to protect Oregon’s groundwater and ensure safe drinking water.  

Community members will offer testimonies, and with Morrow County, request the state’s support to develop a coordinated response, in compliance with recent Environmental Protection Agency’s criteria to address the immediate public health risks in the Lower Umatilla Basin, that identifies each resident with a drinking water well and offers alternative drinking water at no cost to residents whose drinking water sample exceeds the federal maximum contaminant level of 10 mg/L.  

Oregon Rural Action (ORA) is a culturally diverse community-led grassroots organization in Eastern Oregon working to promote social justice, agricultural and economic sustainability, and the stewardship of the region’s land, air, and water. Through community organizing, public conversations, and policy advocacy, ORA is building a rural movement for the well-being of all people and our environment.