PORTLAND, Ore. — Oregon Health Authority said Thursday it has published its final report analyzing health risks related to drinking water from domestic wells near Prineville.

The Environmental Health Assessment Program in OHA’s Public Health Division today published its health consultation report following a two-month public comment period.

The report found water in many of the nearly 60 domestic wells tested north of Prineville pose some level of health risk from contaminants—arsenic, nitrates and some coliform bacteria—common in Oregon wells.

In the report, OHA evaluated testing results for water samples and found about half of the wells had detectable levels of lead, which typically is from plumbing.

About half also had manganese levels that can cause bad taste, discoloration, and cloudiness. Seven wells had manganese levels high enough to pose health risks to children under 1 year old, were they to drink it.

The report includes recommendations for households to mitigate risk and address well contamination, such as seeking blood lead testing, especially for children; treating their water; and verifying treatment effectiveness with additional testing.

OHA has shared well sampling results and health risk information with affected residents and offered one-on-one consultation with an OHA toxicologist.

The final report is unchanged from the public comment draft OHA released in June, except for the inclusion in the appendix of five comments received during the comment period, along with OHA’s responses to the comments. All the comments were on topics outside the scope of OHA’s analysis and did not result in changes to the report.

OHA said it recognizes that access to safe drinking water is critical to the health of all people in Oregon. While the agency does not regulate the quality of private well water, it supports domestic well users by directing them to informational resources about well water testing, maintenance, and treatment, and health risks from contaminants.

The Crook County health consultation and supporting materials are on the OHA website at www.oregon.gov/crookcowells.

The Crook County Board of County Commissioners provides notice that a quorum of the Board might attend a community meeting hosted by Oregon Department of Environmental Quality on Thursday, October 29, beginning at 6:00 PM.

The purpose of the meeting is to gather community input and facilitate discussion regarding the Community Initiated Project (CIP) award of over $1 million to address groundwater concerns in Crook County.

Any Commissioners in attendance anticipate listening to community input and gathering information only. They do not anticipate participating in deliberations regarding County business, making decisions, executing documents, or taking official action on behalf of Crook County.

The meeting will be held at the Crook County Library, 175 NW Meadow Lakes Drive, Prineville.

This community meeting is hosted by DEQ and is not a meeting of the Crook County Board of Commissioners. Additional topics may be discussed by meeting participants that are not specifically identified in this notice.  

The meeting will be held in person, with a remote attendance option available for those who are unable to attend in person. To join remotely, visit: https://ordeq.org/CrookCIP.

To request disability-related accommodations, language interpretation, or communication aids, please contact the Crook County Administration Office at 541-447-6555 or Eric Blaine at Eric.Blaine@crookcountyor.gov.

Because this meeting is hosted by DEQ and not Crook County, the County will coordinate with the event organizers, as practicable, to help facilitate accommodation requests. Requests should be submitted at least five days in advance to allow time for coordination.