Amazon has agreed to pay $20.5 million to settle allegations that wastewater from its Morrow County data centers helped concentrate nitrates in local groundwater, leaving some families with unsafe well water. The company continues to deny it broke any rules but signed off on the payout in court filings this week. The settlement is designed to give affected well users near-term help while cleanup efforts and broader legal battles keep moving.
Under the deal, the $20.5 million will be paid out to households that depend on private wells in the Lower Umatilla Basin, with a court-appointed administrator responsible for notifying eligible residents, according to The Oregonian/OregonLive. Court papers say the money is meant to help families secure safe drinking water while the wider contamination issues and legal claims are sorted out.
Amazon said in a statement that it rejects the accusations but "sought an early settlement to focus time and resources on supporting the community rather than on litigation," while lawyers for the residents argued the payout is only a first move, not a final fix. Court records and company statements cited in the case indicate Amazon drew about 136 million gallons from the Port of Morrow in 2024, roughly 4 percent of the port's water supply, and that the company’s Oregon operations used about 284 million gallons that year, per The Oregonian/OregonLive.
How plaintiffs say the contamination works
Attorneys for the residents contend that water pumped from the aquifer to cool data center servers evaporates during operations, leaving behind minerals such as nitrates and concentrating them in the remaining wastewater, which is later applied to nearby farmland. They argue this cycle has pushed nitrate levels in private wells far beyond safe thresholds. A detailed investigation by the Food & Environment Reporting Network describes how heavy use of industrial wastewater on fields can allow contaminants to seep back into shallow groundwater and drive up nitrate concentrations.
Regulatory history and state action
The Port of Morrow has faced state scrutiny for years over excessive applications of nitrate-heavy wastewater. In 2023, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality reached a settlement that directed nearly $1.9 million to safe drinking water projects and required a new compliance plan, according to a DEQ press release. Reporting by OPB has outlined repeated permit violations and the gradual expansion of private well testing across the Lower Umatilla Basin.
What comes next
According to the law firm for residents, Amazon's payment settles the claims specific to the company but leaves ongoing litigation against other defendants, including food processors, farms, utilities and the Port of Morrow, on the table. Hagens Berman, which filed the federal lawsuit on behalf of local residents, called the settlement a step forward while stressing that further measures will be needed to safeguard drinking water. A court-appointed administrator is expected to begin reaching out to eligible well users with instructions on how to claim their share of the funds.
