Healthy water from the ground up

A spring on the canyon wall of the Lower Crooked River, outside of Terrebonne, Oregon. The river is groundwater- dependent due to the abundance of such springs. © Marshall Gannett

Groundwater provides a vital source of drinking water and creates critical habitat conditions for a broad range of species and ecosystems in the Pacific Northwest. Human activities and increased pressure on groundwater systems, however, have the potential to alter the supply or quality of  groundwater, which, in turn, can affect how groundwater supports fish and wildlife. 

At The Nature Conservancy, we’re working to better understand groundwater and biodiversity relationships and develop effective approaches for protecting groundwater quantity and quality.
 
Across Oregon and Washington, we are identifying and mapping key locations where groundwater is important to conservation and evaluating types and locations of critical threats. We are also developing analysis tools to assist resource managers in understanding the links between groundwater and biodiversity and are testing strategies for groundwater management to protect and restore groundwater-dependent ecosystems and species.

Our findings will be used to inform environmental planning and management decisions to ensure that groundwater is managed to sustain healthy ecosystems while also meeting human needs.

For more information, download our groundwater fact sheet (812 KB).

Groundwater fast facts:

• Groundwater can be essential to six different types of ecosystems – rivers, springs, wetlands,
  caves, lakes, and deep-rooted plant communities (phreatophytes).
• In Oregon, groundwater provides 40 percent of the drinking water; in rural areas, it’s over 90 percent of the drinking water.
• In parts of Oregon and Washington, groundwater pumping has lowered the water table by 100-300 feet in the past 40 years.