What can the Real Estate Transaction database tell us about domestic well nitrate contamination across Oregon?
On this page:
The state of Oregon is one of three states in the US, along with New Jersey and Rhode Island, that requires private well testing at the point of a real estate transaction (RET). Since 1987, Oregon Health Authority has been collecting these data. In 2012-2014, OSU PhD student Brenda Hoppe published several papers summarizing these data and analyzing the spatial patterns. In 2020, EPA scientist Jana Compton and OSU MS student Natalie Wenzlick gained access to these data to update the analysis of spatial and temporal trends in these data. This presentation represents an early initial analysis of the data, to share with the Lower Umatilla Basin GWMA, established by the state of Oregon due to high nitrate levels in groundwater wells. Combining these data with real estate sales information will help to understand potential underreporting, and the database and analysis will be useful to the state of Oregon in understanding risk of providing water near or over the state's action level of 7 mg nitrate-N per liter.