DEQ Issues Penalty Following Two Potable Water Discharge Events from 2023

• August 1, 2025 | Category: Water Resources

In June 2025 the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) issued a $6,000 penalty to Medford Water following two events that occurred in 2023 which resulted in chlorinated drinking water being discharged into two local creeks. Both events were self-reported to DEQ by Medford Water and were promptly corrected.

The first event was an inadvertent overflow of chlorinated drinking water from a reservoir due to equipment failure which was promptly corrected. The second event was a discharge of chlorinated drinking water during an operational flushing of a new water main that did not follow standard dechlorination procedures.

Medford Water is committed to being transparent and forthcoming with our partners and regulators, and to taking corrective action whenever warranted.