Useful Information

We will be happy to answer any questions about L. A. Water Cooperative and our water quality. You can email the office staff at lawater.cooperative@gmail.com or call (503) 662-3899.

Master Plan

The long awaited Master Plan is in it’s final stages and has been presented to the State of Oregon for final acceptance/approval. The current version will remain a “draft” copy until such time as the state gives it’s final approval, and is subject to change in the unlikely event there are needs. The draft version of the Master Plan is available for viewing or downloading by clicking here, and a hard copy is available for review during regular business hours at the main office on Albertson Road. This is a rather large document in PDF format and it may take some time to open, depending on your Internet connection speeds. If you have difficulties opening the document, you may find it better to right click your mouse and choose, “save as”, to save the entire document to your computer for viewing or printing at a later time.

Board Meetings

Board meetings are held on the fourth Thursday of each month at 6:00PM, and are held at the Gaston Fire Station located at 102 E Main St, Gaston, OR 97119. All Co-op members are not only welcome to attend, but are encouraged!

Annual Meeting

The Annual Meeting of the members is held the last Wednesday of March every year, for the purpose of electing directors and for transacting any other business which may require membership approval. Members will receive notice of the time and place of the annual meeting in advance and are encouraged to attend. Ballots are distributed by mail for those who cannot attend in person.

The presentation from the annual meeting in 2018 can be found here

The presentation from the annual meeting in 2019 can be found here

The presentation from the annual meeting in 2023 can be found here

The presentation from the annual meeting in 2024 can be found here

Water Quality

L. A. Water Cooperative is committed to providing you with a safe and reliable supply of high-quality drinking water. Each year, the co-op produces an annual Water Quality Report which meets the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act requirements for ‘Consumer Confidence Reports’. This report contains information on the source of our water, lists the results of our tests, and contains important information about our water and health. The reports are due by July of each year and are usually included with your monthly bill in June. Please read this report carefully and, if you have any questions, email our office or call (503) 662-3899.

The links below are to the same reports that are included in your bill. This year it was in August:

You can also look up the results of our testing on the Oregon Drinking Water Online database.

Lead in Drinking Water

If present, elevated levels of lead can cause serious health problems, especially for pregnant women and young children. Lead in drinking water is primarily from materials and components associated with service lines and home plumbing. L. A. Water Cooperative is responsible for providing high quality drinking water, but cannot control the variety of materials used in plumbing components. When your water has been sitting for several hours, you can minimize the potential for lead exposure by flushing your tap for 30 seconds to 2 minutes before using water for drinking or cooking. If you are concerned about lead in your water, you may wish to have your water tested. Information on lead in drinking water, testing methods, and steps you can take to minimize exposure is available from the Lead Line at (503) 988-4000 or www.leadline.org, or the Safe Drinking Water Hotline at (800) 426-4791 or at http://www.epa.gov/safewater/lead.

Water Survey

Re: Information regarding the new Lead and Copper Ruling implemented August 28, 2022 by EPA -completion due by October 2024.

The Oregon Health Authority has issued a new ruling requiring inventory of all water systems for lead and copper piping. LA Water Cooperative is requesting your assistance in identifying the material composition of both the Co-op and member owned portion of the service line. Service lines can be made of many materials, such as plastic, PEX, HDPE, galvanized (steel), lead, etc. To complete our inventory, we must record the material composition of the service line, even if it is not made of lead. The material type must be reported to the OHA as the regulation requires.

HOW CAN YOU HELP

Please fill out and return the water survey, if you have not already done so. The water survey includes questions regarding service line material on the member side. This is the same water survey sent out at the end of December of 2023 and August of 2022.

WHAT LA WATER CO-OP WILL DO

Over the course of 2024 LA Water Co-op’s team will be examining service lines at meter boxes. You may see them digging or utilizing a hydrovac truck in the meter box. The hydrovac truck will be used as the rental is available. The Co-op will also be researching records to help identify materials of our services.

If you have questions or concerns please contact the office.