A Texas Well Owner Network, or TWON, training has been scheduled for Feb. 5 in College Station.
A Texas Well Owner Network training will be held Feb. 5 at the Wellborne Community Center in College Station. (Texas A&M AgriLife Communications photo)
The Well Educated training, which is free and open to the public, will be 8:30 a.m.–12:30 p.m. at the Wellborn Community Center, 4119 Greens Prairie Road W. in College Station.
Joel Pigg, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and TWON coordinator, College Station, said the training is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs.
“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,” he said. “It allows them to learn more about how to improve and protect their community water resources.”
He said participants may bring well-water samples to the training for screening at a cost of $10 per sample, due when samples are turned in.
Program participants may bring water samples to the training for screening at a cost of $10 per sample. Sample containers are available a the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Brazos County. (Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service photo)
“Water samples will be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids and bacteria,” Pigg said.
Well owners who would like to have their well water sampled can pick up two sample containers from the AgriLife Extension office in Brazos County, 2619 State Highway 21 W. in Bryan.
Pigg said bringing water samples to the training is not required, but those wanting to have water samples analyzed must attend.
Attendees can register on the Texas Well Owner Network website or by calling 979-845-1461.
“The training is one of several being conducted statewide through the Texas Well Owner Network project,” Pigg 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,” Pigg said. “This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their wells.”
Funding for TWON 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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