We envision an Oregon where access to clean, cool waters is a fundamental human right, sustaining the health, well-being, and cultural practices of all communities for generations to come.

Collaborating for Water Justice.

The Oregon Water Futures project has learned that a vision for water justice in the state must engage low-income, rural, BIPOC, and migrant communities as community assets. These communities both contribute valuable culturally specific values and knowledge about how to best care for water for generations to come and provide insights into water resources, infrastructure, and management. These contributions and insights must be engaged for truly inclusive legislative and policy-making action in the state.

It became clear in our online community gatherings and phone interviews with people in eight Oregon counties (Polk, Marion, Umatilla, Malheur, Multnomah, Clackamas, Lane, Clatsop) that BIPOC communities are either already active water actors in their local communities and the state, or wish to be. Their relationship to water resources transcends their presumed role as simply consumers. These are communities whose potential to advocate, educate, and act in response to statewide challenges regarding the health of ecosystems, water affordability, access to clean drinking water, decaying infrastructure, and emergency preparedness has been left mostly untapped, ignored, or unseen by agencies, utilities, and policymakers allocating funds and resources in those areas. In other words, our findings ask local, regional, and state institutions to treat low-income, rural, Native, BIPOC, and migrant communities not simply as people in need of government resources; but rather as social actors with the capacity to help the state address the water challenges it faces in the twenty-first century. Today, as we face challenges such as climate change, pollution, and increasing urbanization these require us all to be mindful of what it means to have a future for Oregon waters for all living beings. 

In order to fulfill their potential as water actors, the communities we consulted named a clear series of shared areas of growth where government, private foundations, and utility investments can provide support. They also signal issues specific to their regional realities that are currently compiled in our report published at oregonwaterfutures.org/report. Policymakers and the usual water stakeholders can no longer shy away from these issues as adjacent to water management in planning for the future of Oregon’s water resources.

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Quotes from Oregon Water Futures Participants