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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

The WARRF Program has been closed to new applications since March of 2025 because all available funds were awarded to help Oregonians repair or replace and permanently abandon household wells that are dry or have been damaged by wildfire. The Oregon Legislature provided approximately $1.2 million to the WARRF Program during the 2025 legislative session. We will reopen and accept new funding applications this fall. We recognize that there are immediate needs related to wildfires and drought in 2025.

Get Ready to Apply!

We will accept applications for WARRF funding beginning in fall 2025. Prepare now to submit your application:

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 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.

2.    Contact a licensed well constructor to inspect your well and identify what work is necessary to repair or replace and abandon the well. A database of licensed well constructors is available at owrd.info/wellconstructors.
3.    Obtain cost estimates for all necessary work to submit with your application. Costs could include drilling, well abandonment, casing, liner, seals, electrical, plumbing, and/or pump costs.
4.    Watch this website for the reopening announcement or sign up for an email notification.

We will accept applications for WARRF funding beginning in fall 2025. When we reopen, you may be eligible for funding if:

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.

​Funding will be available for low to moderate income households when we accept applications for WARRF grants beginning in fall 2025. 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.


Applications are not currently being accepted. We will accept applications for WARRF funding beginning in fall 2025. The program will announce the reopening online, or you can sign up for an email notification.

Since 2022, the Oregon Water Resources Department (OWRD) has received approximately $6.4 million dollars for the WARRF Program. Due to overwhelming demand, all funds have been awarded and the WARRF Program is currently not accepting new applications.

During the 2025 legislative session, OWRD received approximately $1.2 million dollars for WARRF grants. In fall 2025 we will begin accepting applications for these funds. The program will announce the reopening online, or you can sign up for an email notification.

  • 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. 

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 Fondo de Abandono, Reparación y Reemplazo de Pozos de Agua (WARRF, por sus siglas en inglés) brinda asistencia financiera a hogares con ingresos bajos a moderados o a miembros de una tribu reconocida a nivel federal en Oregon. Dicha asistencia es para reparar o reemplazar y abandonar permanentemente un pozo de agua que haya sido destruido por un incendio forestal o que se encuentre en una zona afectada por sequías. El pozo afectado debe haber sido utilizado para fines domésticos y que en el presente no suministre suficiente agua para abastecer el hogar.

Actualmente no hay fondos disponibles para nuevas solicitudes y por lo tanto el Programa WARRF no está recibiendo aplicaciones. Una vez que los fondos vuelvan a estar disponibles, el programa anunciará su reapertura en línea.

Sign up here for funding updates!

For more information contact:

Phone: 503-779-5763

Email: OWRD.Well.Funding

Forms and Guidance

Other Resources: