Contact: Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, dgholson@tamu.edu
ANGLETON — Anyone interested in private water well management is invited to a Texas Well Owner Network training Aug. 3 in Angleton, said program coordinators.
A Texas Well Owner Network training will be held Aug 3 in Angleton. (Texas Well Owners network photo)
The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 5:30-8:30 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Brazoria County, 21017 County Road 171.
“The aftermath of the Brazos River flooding caused many problems to private well owners in the county,” said Cel Devereux, water lab technical manager at the Brazoria County Health Department Water Lab. “We have teamed up with the TWON program in response to the flooding and have arranged a workshop to assist our residents to ensure their well water is safe to use again.”
The TWON program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, so they can learn about improving and protecting their community water resources, said Drew Gholson, AgriLife Extension program specialist and network coordinator, College Station.
“The program was established to help well owners become familiar with Texas groundwater resources, septic system maintenance, well maintenance and construction, and water quality and treatment,” Gholson said.
He said space is limited, so attendees are requested to register at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.
The training is one of 30 being conducted statewide through the Texas Well Owner Network project.
“The core content of this program is the same as other trainings, but the information is tailored to local water quality issues and aquifers,” he said.
Gholson said more than 1 million private water wells in Texas provide water to citizens in rural areas and, increasingly, to those living on small acreages at the growing rural-urban interface.
“Private well owners are independently responsible for monitoring the quality of their wells,” he said. “They are responsible for ensuring their drinking water is safe. This means they are responsible for all aspects of the water system – testing, inspecting, maintaining – and this training will help private well owners understand and care for their wells.”
Funding for the Texas Well Owner Network is through a Clean Water Act nonpoint source grant provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The project is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
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