Nonpoint Source Implementation

​The quality of Oregon's surface and groundwater can be affected by many factors and land uses, including agriculture. When properly managed, agricultural activities and lands are not expected to adversely affect water quality. However when improperly managed, agricultural activities impact water quality at a local and landscape level.  More than 25 percent of Oregon is in agricultural land use (Oregon Department of Agriculture statistics), which means there are millions of acres of land where proper land management can deliver agricultural productivity as well as improve and protect water quality.

DEQ works closely with the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Water Quality Management Program to ensure water quality standards, Total Maximum Daily Loads and nonpoint source pollution goals related to agriculture are met. In January 2023, the agencies completed a collaborative process to update a Memorandum of Agreement that describes coordination efforts on current rules, programs and policies to protect and improve water quality related to agricultural lands and activities.

ODA is responsible for implementing the Agricultural Water Quality Management Act through development and implementation of area plans and rules (this link takes you to the ODA website).    

DEQ participates in ODA's effort to review and revise Agricultural Water Quality Management Area Plans consistent with ORS568.930​​. ODA participates in DEQ’s TMDL and nonpoint source efforts on agricultural lands. During the biennial review process, DEQ provides status and trends reports and comments to ODA’s area rules and plans.

Drinking Water Resources Updates for Agricultural Water Quality Management Areas​

As part of an ongoing commitment to combatting nonpoint source pollution and safeguarding drinking water source areas for communities, DEQ works closely with the Oregon Department of Agriculture on water quality issues.

ODA is responsible for developing plans to prevent and control water pollution from agricultural activities and soil erosion on rural lands. DEQ provides drinking water information to ODA to help facilitate this work.

Drinking water resources in ODA management areas are identified in these updates to make Local Advisory Committees aware of these resources near agricultural practices. Like residential onsite septic systems, forestry, and industrial processes, agricultural practices have the potential to impact drinking water source areas for public water systems and private wells when not managed properly.

Drinking Water Resources Updates for Agricultural Water Quality Management Areas:

• Clackamas
• Crooked River
• Goose and Summer
• Hood River
• Klamath Headwaters
• Lower Willamette
• Malheur
• Owyhee
• Umpqua
• Willow Creek

The ODA management area plans and more information about the program can be found on the ODA website.

​​The Oregon Department of Forestry and DEQ are involved in an ongoing cooperative effort to protect and improve water quality in waterways on non-federal forestlands. Coordination commitments are documented in a Memorandum of Understanding that was updated in December 2021.

The 2002 ODF/DEQ Sufficiency Analysis: A Statewide Evaluation of FPA Effectiveness in Protecting Water Quality identified 12 recommendations that included improvements to the implementing rules or guidance of the FPA and other recommendations under the Oregon Plan for Salmon and Watersheds.

ODF, Oregon Department of Agriculture, Oregon Department of State Lands, Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development, Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, Oregon Parks and Recreation Department, and DEQ have common interests and responsibilities in protecting waters of the state and other natural resources during the conversion of forestland to non-forest uses. These agencies have a Memorandum of Agreement detailing the process and responsibilities for transferring jurisdiction and ensuring protection of waters of the state during conversion of forestland to other land uses.

• ​​DEQ, in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Land Conservation and Development's Oregon Coastal Management Program, has developed Oregon's Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program designed to restore and protect coastal waters from nonpoint source pollution. Coastal states are also required to implement a set of management measures based on guidance published by EPA.
  
• Water Quality Model Code and Guidebook - The goal of the guidebook is to provide local communities, both small cities and counties, with a practical guide to protecting and enhancing water quality through improved land use regulations. The guidebook includes model development code ordinances and comprehensive plan policies that are ready for implementation.
  
• DEQ’s Onsite Disposal Systems Program requires that onsite systems be located, designed, installed, operated, inspected, and maintained to prevent the discharge of pollutants to the surface of the ground and, to the extent practicable, reduce the discharge of pollutants into groundwater that is closely hydrologically connected to surface waters.