Writer: Steve Byrns, 325-653-4576, s-byrns@tamu.edu
Contact: Lisa Brown, 325-396-4787, lbrown@ag.tamu.edu
MENARD – The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service will conduct the All About Water Workshop July 31 at the Murchison/Whitehead Memorial Youth Complex, located at U.S. Highway 190 and U.S. Highway 83 at Menard.
Registration will be from 8:30-9:15 a.m. followed by the program from 9:15 a.m.-4 p.m.,said Lisa Brown, AgriLife Extension agent in Menard County. Three Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units will be offered.
“This workshop will actually cap two days of water-related activities in the county,” Brown said. “The Texas Well Owner Network is hosting a water well screening from 10 a.m. until noon July 30 at this same location to give area residents the opportunity to have their well water tested.”
The July 30 well water screening and July 31 educational program are being presented by the Texas Water Resources Institute and the AgriLife Extension offices in Menard, Mason and Concho counties.
John Smith, an AgriLife Extension program specialist affiliated with the Texas Well Owner Network, will oversee the well water testing and speak at the workshop.
Workshop topics and speakers will include:
– Rainwater Harvesting for Home, Wildlife or Irrigation, Billy Kniffen, AgriLife Extension water resource associate, Menard.
– Grazing Management and Watersheds, Dr. Robert Lyons, AgriLife Extension range specialist, Uvalde.
– Drift Control and Getting the Most Out of Your Range and Pasture Herbicide Applications, Gerald Hobson, DuPont range and pasture specialist for New Mexico and West Texas.
– Texas Water Law Basics and Current Hot Topics, Dr. Tiffany Dowel, AgriLife Extension agricultural law specialist, College Station.
The workshop will conclude with Smith’s presentation, “Private Well Management to Protect Human Health and Aquifer Integrity.” After his presentation, he will provide those who submitted well water samples with the results.
Brown said it is extremely important for those submitting samples to be at the July 31 educational meeting to not only receive the results, but also to learn corrective measures for any identified problems and to improve their understanding of private well management.
Individual workshop registration is $20 by July 25 and $25 thereafter. Those planning to attend should RSVP to the AgriLife Extension office in Menard County by calling 325-396-4787, so an accurate lunch count can be made. The lunch is to be catered by Side Oats Restaurant of Menard.
Well water samples for testing must be turned in by 10 a.m. July 30. The cost is $10 per sample.
For more information on the workshop and how to collect a proper water sample, contact Brown at 325-396-4787, lbrown@ag.tamu.edu .
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