The well water project builds community leadership in water justice and provides information needed to advocate for sustained, equitable investments in water infrastructure for rural communities of color across Oregon. As part of the community-driven well water testing, we provide well and drinking water testing kits, education and capacity for community leaders and volunteers to test their water, and analysis and reporting of the results after the tests are completed in collaboration with OSU’s Institute for Water & Watersheds. Our project builds community leadership in water justice and provides information needed to advocate for sustained, equitable investments in water infrastructure for rural communities of color across Oregon.

This work is significant from an environmental justice standpoint, as we know that race is the strongest correlating demographic factor to unsafe drinking water across the nation. From the community conversations published in the Oregon Water Futures Report, we learned that communities want more data and information about their drinking water quality so that they can advocate for infrastructure upgrades and investments. Additionally, climate change is having a radical impact on communities’ access to safe drinking water, as disasters like droughts, mega-fires, and floods pose increasingly grave risks to these small-scale water sources. Now more than ever, it is critical to invest in community-led research and advocacy so that they can invest in priorities that build resilience for a changing future.

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