Willamette Lowland (Pacific Northwest Basin-Fill)

The aquifer underneath Portland and the rest of the Willamette Valley — generally clean, increasingly compromised by agricultural chemicals at the edges

States

OR, WA

Type

Quaternary alluvial sand and gravel; some confined volcanic-aquifer components below

Status

Stable in regional terms; emerging pesticide and nitrate concerns in agricultural sub-basins

The Willamette Lowland aquifer system is the Quaternary alluvial fill underneath the Willamette Valley of Oregon — the elongated lowland between the Coast Range and the Cascades that stretches from Portland in the north to Eugene in the south, plus extensions into the Cowlitz, Puget, and Skagit valleys of southwestern Washington. The valley is the most densely populated part of the Pacific Northwest west of the Cascade crest and one of the more productive agricultural regions on the West Coast.

This aquifer is the geographically distinct counterpart to the basaltic aquifers of Snake River Plain and Columbia Plateau — alluvial-fill rather than fractured basalt, west-of-Cascades wet-climate rather than east-of-Cascades semi-arid. The water quality story is correspondingly different. The Willamette Lowland's water is generally cleaner than the irrigated-ag aquifers of eastern Oregon and Washington, but the southern Willamette has emerging nitrate and pesticide concerns that are pushing into well-water territory.

What it is, geologically

The Willamette Lowland is a structural basin filled with Quaternary fluvial and lacustrine sediments — sands, gravels, silts, clays — deposited during and after the last ice age. The most productive aquifer units are the Missoula Flood deposits (gravels deposited by the catastrophic Lake Missoula floods of the late Pleistocene) and the younger alluvium of the modern Willamette River and its tributaries. Saturated thickness ranges from tens to hundreds of feet across the valley.

Below the unconfined alluvial aquifer, parts of the valley are underlain by Columbia River basalts at depth, which act as a separate confined aquifer system in some areas (Portland metro, parts of the Tualatin Valley). For deep wells, the relevant question is which system you're tapping.

Population centers

• Portland metro — Multnomah, Washington, Clackamas counties — primarily Bull Run surface water for the city; substantial private and small-system groundwater use in the suburbs and exurbs.
• Salem — Marion, Polk counties — mix of surface and groundwater.
• Eugene-Springfield — Lane County — mostly surface water (McKenzie River) for municipal supply; private wells in the surrounding rural areas.
• Corvallis, Albany, McMinnville — smaller cities with mixed supply.
• Olympia and the Cowlitz/Skagit valleys, WA — similar pattern.

Rural private well density is highest in the agricultural southern Willamette (Lane, Linn, Benton counties) and the wine-country foothills (Yamhill, Polk).

Water quality

The Willamette Lowland's water quality is generally good — the wet climate provides reliable recharge; the alluvial sediments aren't strong sources of natural contaminants; the volcanic basement isn't strongly mineralized. The emerging concerns:

• Nitrates — the southern Willamette Valley Groundwater Management Area (covering parts of Lane and Linn counties) was designated by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality in 2004 for elevated nitrate from agricultural and septic sources. Nitrate concentrations in many shallow wells have continued to climb. See nitrates.
• Pesticides — the USGS NAWQA (National Water-Quality Assessment) program has documented multiple pesticides in Willamette Valley shallow groundwater: atrazine, simazine, dacthal (DCPA), and others. Most detections are below MCLs but the trend is upward. See pesticides.
• Bacteria — shallow wells and dug wells are vulnerable, particularly in the wet winter months when surface flooding can affect wellheads. See bacteria.
• Iron and manganese — common in deeper alluvial wells with reducing conditions. See iron and manganese.
• Hardness — generally moderate.
• Acidic pH — common in the volcanic-influenced upper basin. Slightly acidic water (pH 5.8-6.5) is corrosive to plumbing and raises lead-leaching risk in older homes. See lead.

Arsenic — the underrated PNW concern

Willamette Valley arsenic is the surprise to most rural well owners. Some sub-basins of the southern Willamette have 10-15% of private wells exceeding the EPA arsenic MCL of 10 μg/L, derived from volcanic-source sediments in the basin fill. This is much lower than New Hampshire or San Joaquin Valley exceedance rates, but high enough that arsenic should be on the test panel for any new well purchase or property closing.

Known contaminant concerns

Communities on this aquifer