Skip to main content

Oregon State Flag An official website of the State of Oregon »

Oregon Health Authority

Crook County Domestic Wells

Background

A number of residents in rural areas near the community of Prineville (Crook County) have raised concerns about contaminants in their domestic (private) well water. These include concerns about human health, animal health, plumbing and appliances, and the odor, taste, and appearance of well water. Local and state officials contacted the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to ask whether OHA could help answer community questions about possible health risks from using the water for drinking, cooking, bathing and other daily uses.

What's next?

OHA needs two kinds of information to assess whether the well water in the area poses a risk to human health.

  • We need to know what harmful chemicals are in the water and in what amounts.
  • We need to hear from community members about the health problems they are experiencing.
We rely on data from environmental testing laboratories and environmental agencies like the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) or Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).  Those organizations produce data about what is in the environment, and OHA evaluates the data to understand what it means for public health. 

Information from community members about health effects they believe may be caused by drinking or cooking or bathing in their well water can help inform decisions about contaminants to test for in well water samples.

Gathering information about the community’s health concerns and questions will help with efforts to explore funding a well water study in the community. 

For this reason, OHA worked with Crook County Public Health to host an open house and information gathering meeting with interested community members. This meeting occured on May 30th from 4-7 PM at the Crook County Public Library. Click HERE for a meeting flyer with more information. 

OHA prepared a video to describe the services OHA is able to offer community members. It played on a loop during the open house on May 30th, and you can also watch it by clicking HERE.

If you have already had your well tested, you can contact us at ehap.info@odhsoha.oregon.gov to schedule a call with one of our toxicologists to discuss your results and any potential health risks associated with your well water.

If you have not tested your well yet, you can find accredited laboratories on OHA's Laboratory Lists and Reporting Information webpage. Contact toxicologists at ehap.info@odhsoha.oregon.gov to request help deciding what to test for before sampling, and after you have test results to interpret the results. See OHA's Crook County Domestic Well Testing Recommendations for more information.

We Want to Hear From You!

If funding becomes available, DEQ or their certified contractors may be able to sample wells in the community. To sample well water, DEQ or their contractor would need permission from well owners, as well as more information about the location, type, depth, and condition of wells. If community members are willing to share information about their health with OHA, then OHA can use that information to advise DEQ about which chemicals to test for in the well water samples. You can provide DEQ and OHA with relevant information about your wells and health by filling out this form.