Morrow Co. Clean Water Consortium moving forward with plans; West Glen group still seeking in-person meeting
By Griffin Beach on Thursday, March 12th, 2026 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
BOARDMAN – The Morrow County Clean Water Consortium met Tuesday for the first time with Jared Tesch as the group’s managing director. Tesch outlined what he’s already done in acclimating himself in the position, while much of the discussion in the meeting focused on future plans, including potential meetings with representatives of the West Glen neighborhood
Nick Ducote with Ducote Consulting gave an update on two Federal Community Initiated Project grant applications that were submitted to the offices of Oregon’s two U.S. Senators. One of the projects would look for a cluster of residents affected by nitrate pollution who’d be willing to participate in the development of a new public drinking water system.
The other proposal would help with improving domestic wells or installing filtration systems on homes that are rural enough that this option would be more feasible than connecting to a water system.
Ducote stressed that this funding is a long-term goal, as the request would have to make its way through local Senate offices before it got to the U.S. Congress and went through that process for approval. He said the hope is to have the funding placed into the fiscal year 2027 budget bill.
Solutions for West Glen
Outgoing Managing Director Matt Jensen requested putting out a request for proposal (RFP) for a full engineering feasibility study on connecting the West Glen neighborhood to Boardman’s water system. After several questions from Consortium members it was decided to use $581,000 in Supplemental Engineering Project funds from the Oregon Health Association for the study.
During public comment towards the end of the meeting Kristin Ostrom of Oregon Rural Action, representing West Glen United, emphasized that affected residents expect clean water without bearing the financial burden.
“They’ve already paid, and they’re not going to pay again,” Ostrom said.
The neighborhood group is seeking a formal meeting with Consortium members, though Ostrom noted such a meeting must occur in the evening to accommodate working residents. She further stated that the names of West Glen United representatives would not be disclosed until a meeting with Consortium’s “decision-makers” was arranged.
Tesch concluded the meeting by committing to coordinate a future meeting between the Consortium and West Glen representatives.
