Beneficial Uses of Oregon's Waters

Water quality standards are established to protect beneficial uses of the State's waters.  Beneficial uses are assigned by basin in the Oregon Administrative Rules for water quality.  Beneficial uses include:

When a water quality standard is established, the first step is to identify the beneficial uses sensitive to the parameter. Then criteria are established based on the levels needed to protect the sensitive beneficial uses. For example, the uses typically most sensitive to dissolved oxygen are fish and aquatic life. Fish and other aquatic organisms need an adequate supply of oxygen in the water to be healthy and productive. In this case, the criteria identify minimal amounts of dissolved oxygen that need to be in the water to protect the fish. In other cases, as with many of the toxic pollutants, the criteria may identify the maximum amount that may be in the water without risk to the aquatic biota or to human health. For other parameters, such as bacteria or some toxic compounds, human health is the most sensitive beneficial use.

Oregon Beneficial Use Designations (by Basin)

• Oregon Basin Index Map (Figure 1) PDF
• Designated Beneficial Uses by basin (Tables 101A to 340A)
• Fish Use Designations by basin (Tables 101B to 250B)
• Fish Use and Spawning Use Maps by basin (Figures 130A to 340B)

Related Documents

• Bull Trout Habitat Designation: Technical Work Group Recommendations PDF 1.0mb
• A Description of the Information and Methods Used to Delineate the Proposed Beneficial Use Designations PDF
  Attachment H to EQC Staff Report, November, 2003