Contact: Dr. Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, dgholson@tamu.edu
SAN ANGELO — A Texas Well Owner Network training has been scheduled for Aug. 22 in San Angelo.
The Texas Well Owner Network, or TWON, program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, allowing them to learn more about how to improve and protect their community water resources.
The Well Educated training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8 a.m.-noon at the Tom Green 4-H Center, 3168 N. U.S. Highway 67.
A Well Educated training for private water well owners will be Aug. 22 at the Tom Green 4-H Center in San Angelo. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo by Steve Byrns)
The TWON 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,” said Dr. Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and the program’s coordinator, College Station.
Gholson said 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,” he said.
Well owners who would like to have their well water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension offices in the following counties and addresses:
— Tom Green County, 113 W. Beauregard Ave., San Angelo.
— Irion County, 209 N. Parkview St., Mertzon.
— Schleicher County, 203 S. W. Main, Eldorado.
— Runnels County, 608 Sealy Ave., Suite A, Ballinger.
— Sterling County, 609 4th St., Sterling City.
— Concho County, 159 N. Roberts St., Paint Rock.
Gholson said bringing water samples to the training is not required, but those wanting to have water samples analyzed must attend. Attendees can register at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461.
The training is one of many being conducted statewide through the Texas Well Owner Network project.
“The core content of this program is the same as the other trainings, but the information is tailored to local water quality issues and aquifers,” Gholson said.
More than a 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.
“They are responsible for all aspects of ensuring their drinking water system is safe – testing, inspecting, maintaining it,” Gholson said. “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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