Lone Star Healthy Streams and Friends Workshop set for June 23 in Weslaco
Free event to offer well water testing, soil sampling, watershed education for Hidalgo, Cameron, Willacy counties
Lone Star Healthy Streams and the Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, will host a Lone Star Healthy Streams and Friends Workshop from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 23 in Weslaco.
The program will provide a whole-watershed approach for residents in the Arroyo Colorado Watershed through free soil testing, water well screenings and educational training focused on groundwater and surface water protection.
The event will be held at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, 2415 E. U.S. Highway 83, and is open to residents of Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties.
Lone Star Healthy Streams and the Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, will host a Lone Star Healthy Streams and Friends Workshop from 8 a.m.-2 p.m. on June 23 in Weslaco.
The program will provide a whole-watershed approach for residents in the Arroyo Colorado Watershed through free soil testing, water well screenings and educational training focused on groundwater and surface water protection.
The event will be held at Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Center at Weslaco, 2415 E. U.S. Highway 83, and is open to residents of Hidalgo, Cameron and Willacy counties.
Participants are encouraged to register at tx.ag/WeslacoWatershedWorkshop or by calling Samantha Colunga, Texas Water Resources Institute program specialist, at 979-314-9382 .
Well water and soil sampling information
Private well water samples may be dropped off from 8-10 a.m. on June 22 at the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service locations:
- Texas A&M Center at Weslaco.
- AgriLife Extension office for Hidalgo County 410 N. 13th Ave., Edinburg.
- AgriLife Extension office for Cameron County, 1390 W. Expressway 83, San Benito.
- AgriLife Extension office for Willacy County, 471 W. Hidalgo Ave., Raymondville.
Water quality results and interpretation will be provided during the June 23 workshop.
Soil samples may be dropped off on June 22 at the Texas A&M AgriLife center at Weslaco or brought directly to the workshop on June 23. Official laboratory bags are not required and will be provided at the workshop.
On the agenda
The workshop will offer two Texas Department of Agriculture continuing education units — one drift management and one general education.
Topics and speakers will include:
- Best management practices in support of healthy rural watersheds – Leanne Jackson, AgriLife Extension program specialist and Lone Star Healthy Streams coordinator, Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Arroyo Colorado Watershed Protection Plan update – Colunga, Texas Water Resources Institute program specialist, Weslaco.
- Drift management for range, hay and pastureland – Stacy Hines, Ph.D., AgriLife Extension rangeland habitat management specialist and assistant professor, Department of Rangeland, Wildlife and Fisheries Management, Corpus Christi.
- Private water well management and water sample results – Joel Pigg, AgriLife Extension program specialist and TWON coordinator, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
- Septic system management, Joshua Segura, AgriLife Extension on-site sewage facilities program specialist, Bryan-College Station, and Gustavo Olivares, Cameron County Public Health environmental health director, San Benito.
Well water and soil sampling instructions
Participants submitting water samples should follow the water sampling instructions available at twon.tamu.edu.
Attendees are strongly encouraged to attend the June 23 workshop to receive their test results, learn corrective actions for identified concerns and improve their understanding of private well management.
The Lone Star Healthy Streams program will cover the cost of up to two soil samples per attendee. Eligible samples should be collected from pasture, hay or rangeland areas.
Soil sampling instructions are available through the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory. Participants may also contact their local AgriLife Extension county office for assistance.
For more information, contact Pigg at 979-321-5946 or [email protected]; Jackson at 979-321-5950 or [email protected]; or Colunga, at [email protected].
