WELCOME TO THE UMATILLA BASIN WATERSHED!

* UBWC Highlights * What is Coming Up? *

The UBWC was created in 1997 by the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners as a result of the development of the Umatilla Basin TMDL project. Initial emphasis was directed at education and outreach, along with coordination of water quality monitoring based on water quality management plans developed during the TMDL process. During this time the Council worked with and continues to coordinate efforts with tribal, state, federal, and local government, as well as community stakeholders in the Umatilla TMDL planning efforts and implementation.

 The Umatilla Basin TMDL project was a response to the Senate Bill that demanded the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon Department of Agriculture to inventory and monitor water quality contamination from municipal and agricultural sources within each watershed. Without the active involvement of the tribal, federal, local government as well as local stakeholders the local community would be affected. The planning effort highlighted the limiting factors to the watershed health, and since the development of the plant the UBWC has build a collaborative monitoring program to track progress in meeting the TMDL listings.

 The ultimate goal of the organization is to improve the health of the watershed and in supporting this goal, the core programs of watershed education, water quality monitoring, and watershed restoration were developed. Since the date of the Council’s incorporation it has prioritized the areas of limiting factors within the Basin and implemented $ 1,937,133 of grant funded projects to help the community in resolving issues that may be out of their financial capacity.