DEQ released its most comprehensive evaluation yet of the health of Oregon’s rivers, stream, lakes and other waters.
Water quality and DEQ lab staff made significant improvements to the Integrated Report on Surface Water Quality and List of Water Quality Limited Waters, including a more robust analysis. The report is available this year in a new digital and fully interactive format, which offers tremendous amounts of information in a more user-friendly format.
The report provides a unique opportunity for the public to understand the overall status of Oregon’s water quality and gain a better understanding of how DEQ is maintaining, improving and protecting Oregon’s waters.
Some highlights to note in this report:
- DEQ held its first statewide request for data submission since 2004/2006
- DEQ reviewed and included data from over 70 organizations comprising 7 million rows of data and 140 different pollutants
- The most widespread water quality impairments continue to be temperature, dissolved oxygen, and E. coli
- For the first time, the entire Oregon coastline appears in the report as an area of concern for acidification
DEQ submitted the report to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for approval after public comment ended in December 2019.
–Jennifer K. Flynt, public affairs specialist