Umatilla, Morrow counties begin to chart a path to clean drinking water for Lower Umatilla Basin residents

By Antonio Sierra - OPB- March 14, 2024

After years of giving out bottled water and filters to Lower Umatilla Basin residents affected by the region’s nitrate crisis, authorities are starting to look into ways they can connect those residents with clean sources of drinking water.

Whether this issue will be first resolved by local government or the federal court system is an open question.

Commissioners from Umatilla and Morrow counties held a joint meeting in Hermiston Wednesday to discuss plans to find alternatives to drawing water from private wells, which are more vulnerable to nitrate contamination.