By Monica Samayoa and Antonio Sierra | OPB | Sept. 21, 2024 | Updated: Sept. 23, 2024

For decades, many residents of Eastern Oregon’s Morrow and Umatilla counties have relied on well water contaminated by nitrates, chemicals linked to cancers and thyroid disease — and especially harmful to infants.

On Friday, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Department of Agriculture, the Oregon Water Resources Department and the Oregon Health Authority released an eight-year Nitrate Reduction Plan that outlines short-, medium- and long-term goals on how each state agency will work to lower nitrate levels in Eastern Oregon.

The ultimate goal is to reduce nitrate concentrations below 7 milligrams per liter — below federal standards in the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area.

But even as the state looks to change the practices that led to contaminated drinking water wells, residents may not see results until the 2030s. A local organization says the plan lacks clear and effective strategies like specific timelines to reduce nitrate contamination and enforced regulation from state agencies.