"Water dumping" is a term dubbed by the United States Department of Agriculture referring to a commonly perpetrated welfare fraud by cash seeking welfare recipients purchasing bottled water so they can empty them out and redeem containers for the redemption value in cash. In September 2012, such scheme was not considered a fraud in Oregon. In February 2013, USDA expanded the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program fraud definition to include water dumping. The USDA intends to place repeat "water dumping" offenders on the nationwide lifetime SNAP ban list. In August 2019, KTVZ shared a video recorded by a grocery store employee in La Pine of a man dumping contents of soda that had been purchased with Oregon Trail SNAP card. According to the statement provided to the reporter by the employee, it was a common occurrence. Oregon Department of Human Services told KTVZ that it is considered a fraud that may result in a termination of benefits and the state is cracking down on this fraud this year. Springfield police observed a man and woman emptying bottles in September 2019. When contacted, the woman admitted to police they were emptying water they had purchased on SNAP to cash the containers so they can use the money to purchase fuel. The woman was arrested on outstanding warrants and the police reported the water dumping incident to the Oregon Department of Human Services. KTVL reports a store manager they interviewed has seen people purchasing bottled water with SNAP, emptying them out and returning to the store to redeem the containers for cash.
