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Afraid of your well going dry? Want to make the most of the water
you have? Looking for extra water without paying a big price? If
so, you are like many other homeowners in Oregon and the Pacific
Northwest. To address these concerns, the Oregon State University
Well Water Program now offers a new section (http://wellwater.oregonstate.edu/limitedwater.php)
on their web site entitled: "Limited Water." This step
marks the official transition of the OSU Well Water Program from
a predominately water quality program to one that addresses both
water quality and quantity.
The web and program expansion began as a response to the drought
concerns earlier this year. However, the information is also targeted
for residents with individual household drinking water wells who
have concerns about running out of water even if it is not a drought
year.
The "Limited Water" web sections has the following pages:
 CONSERVATION
Links to publications and other web sites on how to get by with
less water. For many people concerned about limited water, the solution
may be to make more efficient use of the water they have. Water
savings through simple conservation measures can be substantial.
WATER STORAGE
Information about holding tanks, rainwater collection, and more.
One way well water owners can supplement a low-producing well is
with a storage tank. Water is pumped from the well day and night
at a rate that can be sustained and stored for high-demand periods.
Rain barrels are a great idea in the right climate, but they aren't
a very practical solution for supplying water during the long dry
summers of the Pacific Northwest. Just think about how many barrels
of water you would need to collect during the spring to get you
through the summer. The story is different for people in climates
with occasional summer rains—they can fill the barrel, use it until
the next rain and then fill it again—not so in the Pacific Northwest.
WELL GOING DRY?
There are many reasons why a well may produce less water than in
the past, including problems with the well or pump, interference
from nearby wells, drought, and even geological changes caused by
earthquakes. In most cases the homeowner will need to have a professional
help evaluate the situation and help with needed repairs. The key
here is that you need to look at the big picture—the groundwater,
your well, pump, and possibly even the plumbing system—and not jump
to conclusions too quickly.
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Pacific Northwest Regional Water
Quality Coordination Project
Partners
Land Grant Universities
Alaska
Cooperative Extension Service
Contact Fred Sorensen:
 907-786-6311
http://www.uaf.edu/ces/water/index.html
University Publications:
http://www.alaska.edu/uaf/ces/publications/
Idaho
University of Idaho
Cooperative Extension System
Contact Bob Mahler: 208-885-7025
http://www.uidaho.edu/wq/wqhome.html
University Publications:
http://info.ag.uidaho.edu/Catalog/catalog.html
Oregon
Oregon State University
Extension Service
Contact Mike Gamroth: 541-737-3316
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/
University Publications:
http://extension.oregonstate.edu/catalog/
Washington
Washington State University
WSU Extension
Contact Bob Simmons:
360-427-9670 ext.
690
http://wawater.wsu.edu/
University Publications:
http://pubs.wsu.edu/
Northwest Indian College
Contact Michael Cochrane: 360-392-4299
mcochrane@nwic.edu or
http://www.nwic.edu/
Water Resource Research Institutes
Water and Environmental Research
Center (Alaska)
http://www.uaf.edu/water/
Idaho Water Resources
Research Institute
http://www.boise.uidaho.edu/
Institute for Water and Watersheds
(Oregon)
http://water.oregonstate.edu/
State of Washington
Water Research Center
http://www.swwrc.wsu.edu/
Environmental Protection Agency
EPA, Region 10
The Pacific Northwest
http://www.epa.gov/r10earth/
Office of Research and Development,
Corvallis Laboratory
http://www.epa.gov/wed/
For more information contact
Jan Seago at 206-553-0038 or
seago.jan@epa.gov |
MEASURING WELL WATER LEVEL
This process is more complex than you may expect. If you are thinking
of monitoring your well, learn more about it. It takes four to six
measurements per year over a period of at least five years to obtain
useful data on water level trends. You also need to know what you
are measuring: static water level, pumping water level, or recovery
level. You don't need to measure your own well to obtain information
about groundwater levels in your area. The Oregon Water Resources
Department manages a number of observation wells throughout Oregon.
The location of these wells, along with long-term trends in water
levels are available from the web site.
GRAY WATER
Gray water is household wastewater other than toilet water (which
is referred to as "black water"). Some states allow re-use
of this water to irrigate lawns and gardens. At this time, IT
IS ILLEGAL TO USE UNTREATED GRAY WATER IN OREGON.
Over the years, the public has expressed considerable interest in
the use of gray water. Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
has a team working on a Waste Water Reuse Initiative to explore
possible changes to the rules. More information is available on
this web page.
GROUNDWATER RESTRICTIONS
The Oregon Water Resources Department has designated certain geographic
areas of the state as Critical Ground Water Areas or Ground Water
Limited Areas. If you live in one of these areas, there are restrictions
placed on new uses and possibly even on existing uses.
DROUGHT
Well owners are often concerned about drought conditions. This page
provides links to several drought web sites that in turn provide
links to others. When drought conditions exist, the OSU Well Water
Program will post the most current information related to groundwater
and wells in Oregon.
This section, like the entire OSU Well Water Web, is still growing.
New information and links are always being added. Please send your
ideas, suggestions, corrections, or general comments. And coming
soon, there will be a new "Journal" section where well
owners can share their stories.
The OSU Well Water Web Limited Water section can be found at http://wellwater.oregonstate.edu/limitedwater.php.
Contacts are Gail Andrews, OSU Well Water Coordinator, at 541-737-6294
or Jacqueline Fern, Assistant Coordinator, at 541-737-6295 or the
Well Water Program e-mail at well.water@oregonstate.edu.
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National Water Quality Program Areas
The four land grant universities in the Pacific Northwest have
aligned our water resource extension and research efforts with eight
themes of the USDA's Cooperative State Research, Education, and
Extension System.
- Animal Waste Management
- Drinking Water & Human Health
- Environmental Restoration
- Nutrient and Pesticide Management
- Pollution Assessment & Prevention
- Watershed Management
- Water Conservation & Management
- Water Policy & Economics
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CSREES is the Cooperative States Research, Education and Extension Service, a sub-agency of the United States Department of Agriculture, and is the federal partner in this water quality program. |
Download the informational PDF flyer
here
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cooperative program consisting of the USDA Cooperative State Research,
Education, and Extension Service
and
the Land Grant Colleges and Universities.
- a Regionally-Based National Network -
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