Private water well screenings set for May 20-22 in Southwest Texas
Edwards, Kimble, Kinney, Real, Sutton and Uvalde residents invited to test well water, attend meetings
The Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, will host private water well screenings for residents in Edwards, Kimble, Kinney, Real, Sutton and Uvalde counties May 20-22.
The cost of the screening for residents in Kimble, Kinney, Sutton and Uvalde counties is $15 per sample, while the cost will be covered for residents in Edwards and Real counties.
Water samples will be screened for contaminants, including total coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate-nitrogen and salinity.
The TWON program serves residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, said Joel Pigg, Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service program specialist and TWON coordinator, Texas A&M Department of Soil and Crop Sciences, Bryan-College Station.
“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,” he said. “It allows them to learn more about how to improve and protect their community water resources.”
Water sampling and meeting information
Water samples can be dropped off on May 20 from 8:30-11 a.m. at the following locations:
- Uvalde County – Uvalde: AgriLife Extension office for Uvalde County, 122 Veterans Lane, , or Uvalde Underground Water Conservation District, 200 E. Nopal, Suite 203.
- Kinney County – Bracketville: AgriLife Extension office for Kinney County, 117 Ranch Road 693, or Kinney County Groundwater Conservation District, 503 S. Ann St.
- Real County – Leakey: AgriLife Extension office for Real County, 193 U.S. Highway 83, or Real-Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District, 234 Evergreen St.
- Kimble County – Junction: AgriLife Extension office for Kimble County, 105 Reid Road, or Kimble County Groundwater Conservation District, 731 Main St., Suite B.
- Sutton County – Sonora, AgriLife Extension office for Sutton County, 1700 N. Crockett St., or Sutton County Underground Water Conservation District, 301 S. Crockett Ave.
- Edwards County: AgriLife Extension office for Edwards County, 100 W. Main St., Rocksprings, or Real-Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District, 234 Evergreen St., Leakey.
The results and interpretation meeting for Edwards, Kimble and Sutton counties will be held from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on May 21 at Simon Brothers Café, 3861 W. State Loop 291, Roosevelt.
The results and interpretation meeting for Kinney, Real and Uvalde counties will be held from 10-11:30 a.m. on May 22 at the Uvalde County Fairplex, 215 Veterans Lane, Uvalde.
Sampling instructions
Attendees are asked to follow the water sample instructions available at twon.tamu.edu.
Pigg said it is essential for those submitting samples to attend the follow-up meeting to receive results, learn corrective measures for identified problems and improve their understanding of private well management.
For more information on the screenings, contact Pigg at 979-321-5946 or [email protected].
The screenings are presented by AgriLife Extension and Texas Water Resources Institute, a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that brings together expertise from across The Texas A&M University System.
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.
