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The Water Resources Department is now accepting applications for funding to reimburse low to moderate income individual households for work to repair or replace and abandon a household well that is dry or severely declining or that was damaged or destroyed by wildfire. Please see below for additional information about applying for these funds.

The Water Resources Department’s Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund provides financial assistance to help Oregonians repair or replace and permanently abandon a household well that is dry or severely declining or that was damaged or destroyed by wildfire that is unable to supply water for household purposes.

This financial assistance is available to individual low to moderate income households or members of a federally recognized tribe in Oregon. The impacted well must have been used for household purposes and is no longer supplying enough water to sustain the household.

You may be eligible for funding if:

  • Your well is a water supply connected to a residence to supply water for household purposes including water for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, or other household uses.
  • Your well is dry or severely declining or was destroyed or damaged by wildfire.
  • Your household is low to moderate income.
  • You have owned the property for 1 year.
  • You live at the property (unless displaced by natural disaster), and it is your primary residence.
  • Your property does not have an alternate source of water available.
  • Your well is not a public water supply well, community well, or very small water system.

For more information on past eligibility, see the Eligibility Checklist in the Guidance for Homeowners.     ​​​​​​

To apply for funding:

  • Review the Eligibility Criteria.
  • Read the Guidance for Homeowners document.
  • Contact a licensed well constructor to inspect your well and obtain a cost estimate to abandon, repair or replace the well.
  • Complete the application form.
  • Attach proof of income eligibility.
  • Mail the application to the Oregon Water Resources Department.

If you do not have access to a printer and need an application package mailed to you, please contact us.

Oregon Department of Water Resources (OWRD) está aceptando solicitudes para el Fondo de Abandono, Reparación y Reemplazo de Pozos de Agua (Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund, WARRF). WARRF puede reembolsar a los propietarios de viviendas elegibles el costo de abandonar y reemplazar o reparar un pozo que no pueda suministrar agua para fines domésticos. El pozo debe haber proporcionado agua para uso doméstico a hogares individuales o miembros de una tribu reconocida por el Gobierno federal en Oregón. El financiamiento del WARRF es una subvención, no un préstamo, y se puede utilizar para abandonar, reparar o reemplazar de forma permanente un pozo de agua utilizado para fines domésticos.

Para ser elegible para el financiamiento, usted debe reunir todos los requisitos. Para conocer más acerca de los criterios de elegibilidad y tener acceso a los formularios en español, vea la página de Solicitudes, Formularios y Orientación.

​Funding is currently available for low to moderate income households. You meet the definition of low to moderate income if your household gross yearly income (income before taxes or deductions) falls withing the range next to your household size:

Household Size​​Gross Yearly Income
​1$0​ - $44,281
​2​$0 - $59,890
​3​$0 - $75,498
​4​$0 - $91,107
​5​$0 - $106,716
​6​$0 - $122,324
​6+​For each additional household member above 6, add $15,609.

During the 2024 legislative session, the Water Resources Department received $1 million dollars from the State of Oregon General Fund.

  • To help as many Oregonians as possible with the funding program, a limit of $40,000 is available per applicant.
  • The funds are provided as a grant (not a loan) to reimburse homeowners for the expenses to repair or replace and abandon a qualifying well. After grant approval, the homeowner is responsible for contracting with a well constructor and paying for the work. The fund reimburses 100% of the eligible costs up to the funding limit of $40,000 per grant.
  • Funds are limited and applying for the program does not guarantee that your application will be approved.

Learn more about the funding in the Guidance for Homeowners document.

Additional resources may be available to assist with low interest loans or grants for wells from the following organizations:

•    Water Well Trust

If you live in Klamath County, you may also seek financial assistance from the Klamath County Well Assistance Fund. 


If you apply to other grant programs, you will be disqualified from receiving WARRF funding.

Grants are taxable income. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the Oregon Water Resources Department to report all grant payments as taxable income.  OWRD will provide a 1099-G tax form as proof of income if you receive a WARRF grant. We mail the 1099-G form to the address on record. Forms are mailed mid-January for payments made the prior year. For additional information about your tax liability, please contact the IRS or a tax professional.


For more information contact:

Phone: 503-779-5763

Email: OWRD.Well.Funding

Forms and Guidance

Other Resources: