Water quality in Oregon

Source: Municipal groundwater wells (Lower Umatilla Basin aquifer)

Adams' public water utility was reported in compliance with federal health-based standards as of the most recent EPA-assessed quarter. However, Adams sits within the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area, where decades of nitrate contamination from agriculture have worsened over the past decade according to a 2025 Oregon DEQ report, prompting resident lawsuits over unsafe private-well water. That documented regional groundwater crisis, even though the city system itself currently tests clean, raises the risk score above a typical small-town baseline.

Source: Surface water, Willamette River intake (Adair Village municipal system)

Adair Village's drinking water currently meets all EPA and Oregon state standards. However, the city draws from the Willamette River roughly five miles downstream of where treated leachate from the nearby Coffin Butte Landfill (about 40 million gallons/year, containing heavy metals, ammonia, dioxin and PFAS) is discharged via the Corvallis wastewater plant, which is not equipped to remove PFAS. Community advocates have flagged this as an unresolved long-term source-water concern even though current compliance testing shows no violations.

Source: Groundwater wells (Owyhee/Snake River basin aquifer)

No documented EPA/Oregon Health Authority violations, lawsuits, or contamination events were found for this small eastern-Oregon town. A low baseline score is assigned given the lack of any specific reported issue.