It’s Groundwater Awareness Week March 8–14, 2026!
- March 8, 2026 | Category: Water Resources, Your Water
Groundwater Awareness Week—March 8th through 14th, 2026—is an annual observance established in 1999 to highlight the responsible development, management, and use of groundwater.
Our primary water source, Big Butte Springs, is a groundwater source. Located about thirty miles northeast of Medford, Oregon, between Mt. McLoughlin and the town of Butte Falls, the Springs produce exceptionally high-quality water that is consistently cold and clear, with natural chemical and physical characteristics that place this source in a “pristine” classification.
As the primary source of drinking water for the City of Medford and surrounding communities (approximately 150,000 residents of the Rogue Valley), the Springs are one of our community’s most valuable and significant resources. Spring flows are collected underground and require only minimal treatment—disinfection only—to comply with water treatment regulations.
We’ve made it our mission to safeguard public health by providing a reliable, high-quality water supply at the best value, and protecting our water sources is an important first step to accomplishing this. Our Source Water Protection Plan is a guiding framework to protect our water resources from potential risks that could compromise water quality and availability.
Stay tuned for tips on how to protect and conserve groundwater, or find out more about Big Butte Springs or our Source Water Protection Plan. Learn more about Groundwater Awareness Week at ngwa.org.
Facts about groundwater:
- Groundwater constitutes 99% of the world’s unfrozen fresh water.
- The United States uses 82.3 billion gallons per day of fresh groundwater for public supply, private supply, irrigation, livestock, manufacturing, mining, thermoelectric power, and other purposes, according to the U.S. Geological Survey.