Oregon homeowners with failing wells seek help as relief funding threatens to run dry

For 83-year-old Lona Norman, having the money to dig a deeper well made the difference between staying in her Central Oregon home and being forced to sell the property.

“I’m in my comfort zone,” she said. “I feel safe here.”

Norman lives near La Pine, but is outside the range of city services. Like nearly 1 in 4 Oregonians, she relies on a private well for her primary source of potable water. As drought and pumping worsen the decline of aquifers across Oregon, rural homeowners like Norman are first to pay. She needed to come up with more than $20,000 for well repairs, but she’s on a fixed income. So, Norman’s daughter helped her navigate how to ask Oregon for help.