Contact: Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, dgholson@tamu.edu
WIMBERLEY– Anyone interested in private water well management is invited to a Texas Well Owner Network “Well Educated” training July 27 in Wimberley.
The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8:30 a.m.–3:30 p.m. at the Wimberley Community Center, 14068 Ranch Road 12, said Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and network coordinator, College Station.
“The Texas Well Owner Network, or 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,” Gholson said. “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.”
Participants may bring well-water samples to the training for screening. The cost is $10 per sample, due when samples are turned in.
“Water samples will be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids and bacteria,” Gholson said.
Well owners who would like to have their well water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension offices in Hays County at 1253 Civic Center Loop in San Marcos, or in Blanco County at 101 E. Cypress, Suite 109 in Johnson City. Bringing water samples to the training is not required for those who wish to attend, but those wanting to have samples analyzed must be present.
“Private well owners are independently responsible for monitoring the quality of their wells,” he said. “They are responsible for all aspects of ensuring their drinking water system is safe – testing, inspecting, maintaining it. This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their wells.”
Space is limited, so attendees are asked to register by contacting TWON at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or Gholson at 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.
Located in Hays County and the Hill Country of Central Texas, the Cypress Creek watershed is a significant tributary to the Blanco River, according to Meredith Miller, senior program coordinator of the Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan.
“Because of its unique geologic setting and the high degree of connectedness between surface waters and groundwater in the area of Central Texas, the Cypress Creek watershed and adjacent aquifer recharge and contributing zones of the lower Trinity Aquifer are susceptible to nonpoint source pollutants,” Miller said.
“The Wimberley Valley is primarily dependent on groundwater for its potable water, and there are both low-volume residential wells and high-volume public water supply wells in the watershed,” she said. “There’s a great deal of pressure placed on the groundwater resources of the community, which can turn to increased water quality degradation in the watershed. So it’s important to involve and educate the community of the importance of managing their property to reduce nonpoint source pollution runoff.”
More information about the Cypress Creek Watershed Protection Plan and upcoming events is available at the newly redesigned website, http://www.CypressCreekWatershed.org
The training is one of several 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 for this workshop is tailored to local water quality issues and aquifers. Training space for the program was provided by the City of Wimberley.
Funding for the Texas Well Owner Network is through a nonpoint source grant provided by the Texas State Soil and Water Conservation Board. The project is managed by the Texas Water Resources Institute, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, the AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University. This event is co-sponsored by the Cypress Creek Project, managed by The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment and funded, in part, by the Texas Commission on Water Quality.
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