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.
February 2025 Update:
DEQ's contractors sampled about 60 domestic wells in the community during November 2024. The focus of the sampling was metals. However, DEQ's contractors also tested for total coliform (bacteria). OHA notified households that tested positive for total coliform by sending emails or letters in November 2024. This notification included information about recommended next steps and resources to address this problem. Total coliform in well water does not necessarily mean that people drinking the water will get sick, but it does mean that germs are getting into the well somehow. At any time, some of those germs entering the well could be pathogenic (disease-causing). The health effects associated with pathogenic bacteria in well water are gastrointestinal with symptoms like stomach cramping, diarrhea, nausea, and vomiting.
OHA recevied and sent the results of metals testing to households in January 2025. In the same communication, OHA included health information about the metals that were detected and informational resources about treatment. OHA offered indivudal consults with a toxicologist to all recipient households.
DEQ is seeking funding for additional sampling efforts in the area. OHA will draft a Health Consultation report for the community based on the results of the November 2024 sampling and potentially, additional sampling. The timing of the Health Consultation is contingent on completion of sampling. For a description and examples of a Public Health Consultation, see the EHAP Reports webpage.
Previous Work
In order to assess whether the well water in this area poses a risk to human health, OHA will need to know what harmful chemicals are in
the water and in what amounts. OHA relies 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.
To inform community sampling efforts, OHA worked with Crook County Public Health to host an open house and information gathering meeting with interested community members. This meeting occurred on May 30th, 2024 at the Crook County Public Library. Click
HERE for a meeting flyer with more information.
Resources for Crook County Domestic Well Safety Information Gathering
- Event flyer: Click HERE
- Electronic questionnaire: Click HERE
- Watch video: Click HERE
Domestic Well Safety Resources