EPA Nitrate Research in the SWV-GWMA: Research update October 2024
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Based on Oregon's Groundwater Protection Act of 1989, DEQ is required to declare a Groundwater Management Area (GWMA) if area-wide groundwater contamination caused primarily by nonpoint source pollution, exceeds certain trigger levels. Studies beginning in the 1990s show that shallow groundwater contains nitrate above levels that are a concern. In May 2024, DEQ declared the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area for portions of the Southern Willamette Valley. Since 2012, PESD scientists Renee Brooks and Jana Compton have been working with Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon Department of Agriculture, and others to understand the drivers and trends of groundwater nitrate in the Southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area. PESD researchers provide an update to the GWMA committee meeting on their research each year since 2012.