Is Umatilla, OR tap water safe?
The short answer
None of the 3 utilities serving Umatilla has a result above a legal limit or action level, or a health-based violation since 2016, in EPA’s and CDC’s records.
City of Umatilla, which serves the most people here, has 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 33.2 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark. A health benchmark is a level EPA screens with, not a legal limit.
A town can be served by more than one utility, and some homes are on private wells. The name on your water bill tells you which is yours, and your ZIP code narrows it down. They are listed by how many people each serves in Umatilla’s ZIP codes, from EPA’s estimates.
- Open report
City of Umatilla
Oregon · serves 8,256 people · about 1,200 in Umatilla
1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: Lithium at 33.2 ppb, above EPA’s health benchmark.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
City of Hermiston
Oregon · serves 20,000 people · under 100 in Umatilla
1 result above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029, 3 results above the health goal and 1 result above EPA’s health benchmark. The worst: PFOS at 12 ppt, above EPA’s new limit, which takes effect in 2029.
No health-based violations since 2016
- Open report
Power City Water Co - Op
Oregon · serves 70 people · under 100 in Umatilla
1 result above the health goal. The worst: Arsenic at 1.2 ppb, above the health goal.
No health-based violations since 2016
Water testing near Umatilla
The 3 labs Oregon certifies closest to Umatilla, in a straight line. Call first: certification is test by test, and not every lab takes samples from homeowners.
Pendleton Wastewater Treatment Plant
Pendleton, OR · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria
Umpqua Research Company - Table Rock
Pendleton, OR · about 28 miles
Certified for bacteria, nitrate
Matrix Sciences dba KTL
Pasco, WA · about 39 miles
Certified for nitrate, lead and copper, metals, minerals and other inorganics
Oregon State University Extension Well Water Program: Nitrate screening of well water at many of its groundwater education events. The screening is free. Water Testing Guidance for Private Wells, OSU Well Water Program.
All 91 certified labs for OregonWhich ZIP codes are in Umatilla: Census 2020 relationship files. Which utilities serve them, and how many people: EPA SDWIS and EPA’s service area map. Each utility’s results: EPA UCMR 5, EPA SDWIS, and EPA’s and the state’s compliance monitoring, as its report lists them. How they are measured: methodology. Certified labs: Oregon Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program, drinking water labs, as listed in TNI LAMS; distances from the Census 2020 ZIP code tabulation area gazetteer.
Near Umatilla
Towns nearby with a page of their own.
What to do next
- Read City of Umatilla’s full reportEvery result with its dates, the violations, and the certification claim that handles each finding.Open the report
- About LithiumWhat it does to health, where it comes from, and the certification claim that addresses it.About Lithium
- On a private well?No utility tests a well. A certified lab test is the first step.How to test well water