The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Laboratory and Environmental Assessment Division, aka “The Lab,” has released the 2023 Oregon Water Quality Index. It provides a general statistical overview of water quality status and trends across Oregon. The Index analyzes a defined set of water quality variables and produces scores describing general water quality for a network of locations along Oregon’s rivers and streams. It does not include the state’s lakes, wetlands, estuaries, marine waters or groundwater resources.
DEQ uses the Index to communicate information on the overall water quality of Oregon’s rivers and streams in an easy-to-understand, non-technical manner to the public, agency managers and the Oregon Legislature.
The Water Quality Index results for water years 2014-2023 show 50% of sampled sites currently achieving Excellent or Good status; 14% achieving Fair status and 36% attaining Poor or Very Poor status for the statewide ambient monitoring network of 160 sites.
For the report and more information on results and reporting methods, uses of the Index and links to an interactive map showing site locations and trends, visit DEQ’s Water Quality Index web page. Also, see the “What’s in the Oregon Water Quality Index?” story map for more details.