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Well Abandonment, Repair and Replacement Fund (WARRF)

Overview

The Oregon Water Resources Department’s Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund (WARRF) provides financial assistance to low to moderate income homeowners experiencing well water supply issues. Grants assist landowners with dry wells, including those that are experiencing severely declining water levels, and wells damaged or destroyed by wildfire.

Updates and Announcements

OWRD invites qualifying low-to moderate-income homeowners or members of a federally recognized Tribe in Oregon experiencing well water supply issues to apply for a Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund Grant. Grants can help cover the cost of repairing or abandoning and replacing a dry well –including those with severely declining water levels– or a well damaged or destroyed by wildfire, when the well no longer provides enough water for essential in-home uses like drinking, cooking, and bathing.

Applications are accepted on a first come, first served basis.

Applications are available online. The online application is mobile friendly – you can apply from a smart phone or tablet. 

View Information Session about the Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund. 

Review the Guidance for Homeowners. This document includes more details about the program and grant requirements.

View a video introduction to the online platform. Please note the video says grantees will be able to receive payments via ACH by entering the information in their profile. OWRD will not be using this feature.

Need Assistance? If you are unable to apply online and would like a paper application or need assistance with the grants portal, please contact us at OWRD.Well.Funding@water.oregon.gov or 503-779-5763.

To qualify for funding, you will need to meet ALL the following eligibility requirements:

✓ Your well is connected to your home (or was connected if damaged by fire) to supply water for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, or other household uses.

✓ Your well is dry or was damaged by wildfire and can no longer provide enough water for household use.

✓ Your well is not a public water supply well, community well, or very small water system.

✓ Another source of water is not available for your property.

✓ You own the property and live there full-time (unless displaced by wildfire).

✓ It is the only property you own, and:

  • If your well is dry, you have owned the property for at least one year.
  • If your well was damaged or destroyed by wildfire, you owned the property before the fire.

✓ Your household is low to moderate income.

For additional information, please review the Eligibility section of the Guidance for Homeowner’s document.

​Funding is currently only available for low- to moderate-income households. Your household is considered low to moderate income if your yearly total income (all household income before taxes or deductions) is less than the amount shown for your household size in the table below. 

​Household Size​Maximum Gross Yearly Income
​1​$46,950
​2​$63,450
​3​$79,950
​4​$96,450
​5​$112,950
​6​$129,450
​​For each additional household member above 6, add $16,500.


  1. Check your eligibility. To qualify for funding, you will need to meet ALL the following eligibility requirements:

         ✓ Your well is connected to your home (or was connected if damaged by fire) to supply water for drinking, cooking, washing, bathing, or other household uses.
    ✓ Your well is dry or was damaged by wildfire and can no longer provide enough water for household use.
    ✓ Your well is not a public water supply well, community well, or very small water system.
    ✓ Another source of water is not available for your property.
    ✓ You own the property and live there full-time (unless displaced by wildfire).
    ✓ It is the only property you own, and: 

              * If your well is dry, you have owned the property for at least one year.
         * If your well was damaged or destroyed by wildfire, you owned the property before the fire.

    ✓ Your household is low-to moderate-income.

    For full details, see the Eligibility Section of the Guidance for Homeowners document.

  2. Learn about the Well Abandonment, Repair, and Replacement Fund. Review the information on this website, watch the video information session, and read the Guidance for Homeowners document. These explain the program and grant requirements.

  3. Get a Professional Well Assessment

  4. Complete the Application


    If you are unable to apply online and would like a paper application or need assistance with the grants platform, please contact us at OWRD.Well.Funding@water.oregon.gov or 503-779-5763.

Since 2022, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) has received approximately $7.6 million for the WARRF Program. 

OWRD has provided funding to restore water to more than 240 homes. We are now accepting applications for approximately $1.4 million in funding.

  • To help as many Oregonians as possible with the available funding, an applicant can receive a maximum grant of $40,000.
  • These funds are provided as a grant (not a loan) to reimburse qualifying homeowners for the expenses to repair or replace and abandon a household well. After grant approval, the homeowner is responsible for contracting with a well constructor and paying for the work.
  • The fund reimburses 100% of the eligible costs up to the funding limit of $40,000 per grant.
  • Funds are limited and applying for the program does not guarantee that your application will be approved. 


Additional resources may be available to assist with low interest loans or grants for wells from the US Department of Agriculture Rural Development Single Family Housing Repair Loan and Grant Program. 

The Oregon Water Resources Department’s Harney Domestic Well Remediation Fund provides funding to help Oregonians in the Greater Harney Valley Groundwater Area of Concern (GHVGAC) with household wells impacted by declining groundwater levels. Qualifying homeowners may be reimbursed for part of the cost to repair or replace and abandon dry or at-risk household water wells. Please see our website for the most current information.

If you live in Klamath County, you may seek financial assistance from the Klamath County Domestic Well Financial Assistance Grant Program.

Important: If you apply to other grant programs, you will be disqualified from receiving WARRF funding.

​Unfortunately, you do not qualify for WARRF funding if a domestic well does not supply water to your home. If a public water supply is available, you may be able to connect to that system. If a public water supply is not available, you can:

  • Drill your own well,
  • Share a well with up to two neighbors to split costs and water use, or 
  • Install a water tank (cistern) and have water delivered regularly
While you are not eligible for WARRF funds, other resources that you could pursue include: 
  • USDA low-interest loans for rural low-income homeowners - Single Family Housing Repair Loan,
  • Low-cost home repair loans from Community Action Networks or other non-profit organizations for low-income homeowners, or
  • Home equity loans, personal loans, or veteran loan


Grants are taxable income. The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requires the Oregon Water Resources Department to report all grant payments as taxable income.  OWRD will provide a 1099-G tax form as proof of income if you receive a WARRF grant. We mail the 1099-G form to the address on record. Forms are mailed mid-January for payments made the prior year. For additional information about your tax liability, please contact the IRS or a tax professional.

El programa del Fondo de Abandono, Reparación y Sustitución de Pozos (Well Abandonment, Repair, & Replacement Fund, WARRF) del Departamento de Recursos Hídricos de Oregón ofrece subvenciones para ayudar a los propietarios de viviendas con ingresos bajos a moderados a solucionar los problemas de suministro de agua de pozo. Hay financiamiento disponible para pozos secos o aquellos que fueron dañados o destruidos por un incendio forestal. Los propietarios de viviendas pueden recibir una subvención para reparar o sustituir y abandonar los pozos que ya no proporcionan agua para usos esenciales en el hogar, incluida el agua para beber, cocinar y bañarse.

Para obtener todos los detalles, por favor revise la documento Orientación para propietarios de viviendas.

 

Sign up here for funding updates!

For more information contact:

Phone: 503-779-5763

Email: OWRD.Well.Funding

Forms and Guidance

Other Resources: