Near-capacity crowd shows up for West Glen meeting
By Griffin Beach on Friday, August 29th, 2025 in Columbia Basin News More Top Stories
BOARDMAN – A community outreach meeting organized by the Morrow County Clean Water Consortium (MCCWC) to address nitrate levels in drinking water on Wednesday evening saw its attendance nearly quadruple from the previous meeting, thanks mainly to members of a group called “West Glen United” (WGU).
The consortium held the event to present to citizens solutions they’ve been working on to provide access to clean drinking water for residents of the West Glen neighborhood south of Boardman. Residents of West Glen use wells for water access which have been heavily affected by nitrate contamination as part of the Lower Umatilla Basin Groundwater Management Area.
WGU members identified themselves by wearing white shirts with red stickers that said West Glen United or West Glen Unidos and made up a majority of the 80 to 90 people who filled the library at Sam Boardman Elementary School to near-capacity.
Morrow County Administrator and MCCWC Executive Director Matt Jensen spoke for most of the presentation and fielded questions from the audience. The MCCWC presentation stated that after engineering feasibility studies it was felt the best option was to connect West Glen residents to the city of Boardman’s water system. Jensen said through grants, legislative funding, and MCCWC funds the money was already in place to connect homes in West Glen.
Many in attendance felt that MCCWC was trying to force this solution without adequate engagement with West Glen residents, and that it was unfair for them to start paying city water fees for a situation that was no fault of their own.
“We already paid for our water when we put in our wells, and they weren’t cheap to drill,” WGU member Anniese Philpott said. “We’ve had our drinking water stolen from us and we shouldn’t have to pay even more because these big companies polluted our groundwater.”
Jensen said he understands residents’ frustration of having to pay for an issue they did not create and will make sure those concerns are communicated back to MCCWC.
“Clean Water Consortium is looking at actionable plans within the next two to three years which will make a difference,” he said. “And so, if we need to do tweaks because of the feedback whether it’s not connecting to the city or not doing the extra cost of a public system, those will definitely be heard, and we’ll take those back to the Clean Water Consortium.”
Photo L to R: Morrow County Commissioner Gus Peterson, Rural Engagement and Vitality Center Executive Director Grace Donovan, interpreter AnaMarie Rodriguez, Morrow County Clean Water Consortium Executive Director Matt Jensen
