Water is considered to be one of the most abundant resources on Earth, yet only one percent of it is actually drinkable. It is therefore vitally important to protect and conserve this resource. Marion County currently has four designated areas where groundwater is limited, along with many streams that are in need of restoration.
Resources
The vision of the Water Resources Department is to assure sufficient and sustainable water supplies are available to meet current and future needs. The OWRD also administers water rights and addresses complaints related to illegal water use.
The mission of the Oregon Water Science Center is to provide reliable scientific information that describes, interprets, and facilitates the management of water resources for the benefit of the American people.
Water Watch is a U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) World Wide Web site that displays maps, graphs, and tables describing real-time, recent, and past stream flow conditions for the United States. The real-time information generally is updated on an hourly basis.
The Water Quality Program's mission is to protect and improve Oregon's water quality. Protecting Oregon's rivers, lakes, streams and groundwater quality keeps these waters safe for a multitude of beneficial uses such as drinking water, fish habitat, recreation and irrigation.
This website is dedicated to improving the understanding of irrigation planning and management in order to increase grower profitability and enhance the local environment.
The Oregon Water Resource Department conducts a variety of functions critical to the management of Oregon's water resources. Staff set standards for water measurements, complete hydrologic studies, enforce water laws, and help water users and local watershed groups identify and solve local water needs.
Regulates water quality at the federal level and provides a robust resource list on issues related to water. It also provides case studies and possible solutions to national water concerns.
NOAA provides up-to-date stream flow information on this website. It provides information on waterways through out the nation, in addition to a number of other quantitative measures.
Provides up-to-date stream flow data for the waterways through out the city of Salem, Oregon. Provides a simple interface for accessing this information.
Information to help local citizens and policy makers make better decisions about land water use in Oregon's Willamette River Basin.