Past Engagement
February - June 2025
During the winter and spring of 2025, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) partnered with Oregon’s Kitchen Table (OKT) to engage Oregonians to better understand peoples’ experiences, concerns and ideas about managing water quality issues caused by excess nutrients in Oregon. The goal of this engagement was to inform a statewide nutrient reduction strategy that will be created by summer 2026. This was in part a follow-up to the engagement that Oregon’s Kitchen Table had done on the Integrated Water Resources Strategy in 2023.
Nutrients are found in soil, water, and other places. Fertilizer, compost, and human and animal waste are high in nutrients. These include nitrogen and phosphorus. They are vital for all aspects of life. But when too many nutrients get into our water, they become pollutants. They cause harmful blooms of algae. They can make water unsafe to drink or swim in.
High levels of nutrients result from:
- Runoff from cities, forests and farms.
- Leakage from septic systems in rural areas.
- Certain sources like sewage treatment plants.
Over 1000 people participated in a variety of engagement activities. This report provides a range of perspectives, experiences, hopes, and ideas for DEQ staff to consider as they develop the statewide nutrient reduction strategy.
If you would like to stay up to date on DEQ's nutrient reduction strategy, you can subscribe to DEQ's email listserv here. OKT will also continue to share updates on the results of this engagement through our e-newsletter, as well as other opportunities for engagement. We encourage you to sign up if you are interested.