Water well owner training April 24 in Stephenville

Contact: Dr. Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, dgholson@tamu.edu

STEPHENVILLE — A Texas Well Owner Network training has been scheduled for April 24 in Stephenville.

The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 1-5 p.m. at the Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center, 1229 N. US Highway 281. It is offered to area private water well owners through collaboration with the Middle Trinity Groundwater Conservation District.

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 more about how to improve and protect their community water resources, said Dr. Drew Gholson, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and program coordinator 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 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 Erath, Comanche, Bosque or Coryell counties.

Bringing water samples to the training is not required, Gholson said, but those wanting to have water samples analyzed must attend.

Gholson 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 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 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. This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their wells,” Gholson said.

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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