Overview
- Household wells in Morrow County have tested as high as 73 ppm of nitrates, far above Oregon’s 7 ppm limit and federal guidance around 10 ppm.
- Reporting cites a process in which data centers withdraw groundwater for cooling, evaporation concentrates nitrates, and wastewater averaging up to about 56 ppm returns to the Port of Morrow system for field spraying.
- Experts and local clinicians link the heightened contamination to reported increases in miscarriages and rare cancers, noting established health risks from high nitrate exposure.
- Amazon disputes the findings as misleading, says its facilities account for only a small share of system water flows, and notes the aquifer’s nitrate problems predate AWS.
- Advocates say state actions have largely been limited to bottled water for some households, and they highlight poverty rates near 40 percent as a barrier to securing safer supplies.