PRESS RELEASE: Rural Boardman Community Meets for Safe Water
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
June 17, 2022
PRESS RELEASE
Rural Boardman Community Meets for Safe Water
County Commissioner Doherty to listen to community needs and deliver first emergency water
Boardman, Oregon -- Today, community members in rural Boardman will meet with Morrow County Commissioner Jim Doherty at 6 pm in the West Glen neighborhood where most of the 60 wells tested were found to be above the maximum contamination levels for nitrates, dozens up to 5 times the level.
“Thanks to Oregon Rural Action and rural Boardman residents for organizing this meeting. It will be an honor to meet with families, hear their concerns and deliver the first emergency water to the community,” said Commissioner Jim Doherty. “Working with federal and state agencies, assistance will be ongoing until we can ensure safe drinking water for all county residents.”
Preparing for Friday’s meeting, community members continued to express both shock and concern over the results of testing that found high levels of nitrates. While many said they do not drink the water, almost all thought the water was safe if boiled and regularly used the water in cooking. Others thought their water was safe because of the filtration system they had purchased.
While going door to door to invite people to the meeting with the Commissioner, an older gentleman said with tears in his eyes, “I hope I live to see the day that this problem is fixed! There is hope!”
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.
“Troubled by inaction, Morrow County commissioner makes safe water a top issue”
By Alex Baumhardt | Oregon Capital Chronicle | June 17, 2022
“There are at least 1,300 private domestic wells in Morrow County. In May, Doherty and Pineyro expanded their testing effort with help from Oregon Rural Action, a nonprofit based in La Grande.
The group has tested the tap water in 59 homes that rely on wells around Boardman and nearby Irrigon. Only 17 had reverse osmosis filters.
More than 80% of the water had nitrate levels above the EPA safe drinking water limit. Even among the 17 with reverse-osmosis filters, 11 tested high, meaning it’s possible the water is too hard for the filter to properly work, or the homeowner hadn’t replaced the membrane inside the filter frequently enough.
Zaira Sanchez is director of community organizing for Oregon Rural Action. She recently delivered test results to a number of people.
“One woman was very much pregnant, due anytime now, and her results were 41” parts per million, Sanchez said. “They were drinking that water. I felt bad delivering that news and seeing that genuine fear.”
One man whose water was more than double the federal nitrate limit said his wife had suffered two miscarriages.
“He wondered if the water could be the cause,” Sanchez said.
On June 9, Morrow County declared an emergency over the groundwater nitrate issue.”
“Oregon county declares emergency over water contamination”
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.”
“Morrow County declares emergency over high nitrate levels in wells”
By Monica Samayoa | OPB | June 10, 2022
“A team from 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, said Kristin Anderson Ostrom, the group’s executive director. Some residents were unaware of the health effects of drinking high levels of nitrate, and most were using the tap water to wash clothes, take showers and for cooking.
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. “For example, one family had a result of 41 milligrams per liter in their water and I asked, ‘what do you think when you see that number or hear that number?’ And the common response was something like, ‘is that high, is that bad?’”
“Morrow County declares emergency over groundwater nitrate pollution”
By Alex Baumhardt | Oregon Capital Chronicle | June 9, 2022
“Oregon Rural Action, a nonprofit based in La Grande, has teamed up with the Morrow County Health Department to test 60 taps in an area just south of Boardman off of the city’s water system and in the nearby town of Irrigon. Both areas sit atop the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Area.
The county estimates about 1,300 homes in Morrow County rely on well water that draws from this tainted groundwater area. Oregon Rural Action would like the county to eventually test the tap water at all of them. ”
La Grande Community Garden is Open
After a long year of uncertainty amid the COVID-19 pandemic and in partnership with Eastern Oregon University we have been able to open the La Grande Community Garden.
This spring, while waiting for this decision, an ORA Member and community gardener planned to rent a plot to grow food for himself and some for his neighbors. He had noticed some of his neighbors weren’t grocery shopping very frequently and wondered if the pandemic was having an impact. According to community members and Community Connections, the pandemic has exacerbated food insecurity in Union County including a 30% increase in new people seeking food at food pantries. (Union County FEAST, April 24, 2021)
Although late to the growing season, 13 community members have been planting with the help of Howell’s Nursery and individuals who donated vegetable plants. Gardeners utilized the seedlings in their personal plots and cultivated an additional 5 plots to share with the community! Woodgrain and Rogers Asphalt and Paving worked together to donate wood chips and transport them to build the garden’s walkways. The outpouring of support and excitement from people has been inspiring.
There is still space available for more people to come and grow food for the fall. As we face increasing food insecurity, heat and drought, we are asking ourselves, how can our garden be a place for community care, growth, and change? In this endeavor people with all kinds of experience and backgrounds and passions are welcome and encouraged to be a part of this journey and development.
If you are interested in hearing more, touring the garden, or getting involved for volunteer days please contact Kagan at kagank@oregonrural.org or 541-975-3724.
ORA Spotlight: Erin Lair
Highlighting the stories of ORA leaders.
Erin was elected to the Oregon Rural Action Board of Directors at the April 2021 Annual Meeting. She has lived in Eastern Oregon for most of her life, growing up in Baker City. Erin is currently the Director of Teaching and Learning at the InterMountain Education Service District. She and her husband are co-owners of a cherry orchard in Cove, Forest Cove Acres.
When did you first become interested in community organizing?
I have always been interested in community organizing - often spearheading efforts specific to the education space. After spending over a decade in education, I became increasingly interested in the advocacy side of policy and legislation relating to rural communication ties. To that end, I have spent the better part of the last 5 years really trying to find ways to elevate the voice of rural Oregon in the legislative process, especially relating to opportunity and access. The more we leverage community organizing, the more we are able to spread education and understanding, and broaden the possibilities to know and serve each other better.
Why is this work important to you?
Across myriad industries, the stories of rural communities are often misunderstood. The passion and advocacy for sustainable practices and equity are embedded in so many of the efforts of our communities. However, cohesion across efforts can be difficult in rural settings. What Oregon Rural Action offers is a uniting modality for connection. I really feel that the work in community organizing allows for stories to be shared and hard work to be done as we all move toward shared hopes for our future.
What changes would you like to see in your local community?
There is a lot of good work happening in silos and behind the public eye. I think our local community- and many rural communities- could work together to highlight the stories that showcase the incredible efforts coming from local producers, entrepreneurs, service industries, and others working toward bettering their community.
What’s something bringing you joy at the moment?
We recently purchased our cherry orchard- Forest Cove Acres. Although exhausting in a way I have never experienced, each day working toward our first cherry harvest brings me a sense of fulfillment I have never known before. Watching my family working side-by-side fills me with such profound joy daily.
Forest Cove Acres
Oregon Rural Action Hosts FEAST Conversation
From the La Grande Observer:
Local community leaders on Saturday, April 24, will host Union County FEAST 2021 in collaboration with Oregon Food Bank, and the public can participate.
FEAST is a community conversation about "Food, Education and Agriculture in the community and building Solutions Together" for a more equitable and resilient local food system, according to the press release from Oregon Rural Action, which is helping with the event.
"Although FEAST is traditionally held in person, we are happy to have the opportunity to come together virtually this year," according to Kagan Koehn, community organizer for Oregon Rural Action. "Conversations about food in our community are too important to be postponed until we can all gather together again in person."
Read the full article here.
Pilot project vaccinates hundreds of agricultural workers
From the East Oregonian:
“We’re working with our local public health authorities to connect agricultural, migrant and seasonal workplaces to see if they can do an event(s) like this” across Oregon, [Akiko] Saito said.
The clinic began two days after Morrow County received approval from the state to move ahead and start vaccinating farmworkers after sufficiently providing doses to all other eligible groups.
At least 20 counties, most of them east of the Cascades, received approval from the state last week, including Umatilla County.
The change also comes just in time for harvest season, which brings thousands of jobs to the area. Morrow County Public Health Director Nazario Rivera said harvest season can bring as many as 8,000 workers to the region annually.
Read the full article here.
Umatilla County sponsors Spanish-speaking radio show to share experiences with COVID-19
From the La Grande Observer:
The Umatilla County Public Health Department allocated new funding to sponsor the radio show, which broadcasts out of Kennewick, Washington, and was launched in April 2020 by Oregon Rural Action, a grassroots organization that aims to promote social justice, diversity and the environment in rural Oregon communities.
“We’re told it’s become very popular,” said Joe Fiumara, the county’s public health director. “We thought it was a good way to keep an opening to the (Hispanic) population, which is hard for us to reach.”
The funds will help pay for advertisements and the show itself, and will help it run for another year. Fiumara said county health officials will work with the show to provide written responses to listeners’ questions about the virus.
Read the full article here.
