Abstract
The degree of linear polarization and the polarization angle of the 8 kmjs water maser source in Orion was measured with the Itapetinga radiotelescope during the period 1979-1984. The source studied is strongly variable and had an outburst in October 1979, becoming the strongest water source in the sky. The maser has a large degree of linear polarization that remained almost constant and independent of the intensity of the source, indicating that the maser is saturated. The polarization angle changed in a quasi-periodical form between 30 and 340, implying that either the direction of the magnetic field or the emitting region is changing.
