Contact: Drew Gholson, 979-845-1461, [email protected]

HENDERSON — Anyone interested in private water well management is invited to a Texas Well Owner Network training Sept. 8 in Henderson.

The training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 1- 5 p.m. at the meeting room for the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office in Rusk County, 115 E. Fordall.

A Texas Well Owner Newtork training will be held Nov. 20 in Cuero. (Texas Well Owners network photo by The Texas Well Owner Newtork will present water well screenings in Brooks, Duvall, Jim Hogg, Starr and Webb counties in August. (Texas Well Owners network photo)
A Texas Well Owner Newtork training will be held Nov. 20 in Cuero. (Texas Well Owners network photo by The Texas Well Owner Newtork will present water well screenings in Brooks, Duvall, Jim Hogg, Starr and Webb counties in August. (Texas Well Owners network photo)

 

“The TWON program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, so they can learn about improving and protecting their community water resources,” said Drew Gholson, AgriLife Extension program specialist and network 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.”

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 Rusk County; Gregg County, 405 E. Marshall Ave. Ste. 101 in Longview; Cherokee County, 165 E 6th St. Ste. 104 in Rusk; or the Rusk County Groundwater Conservation District, 500 N. High St. in Henderson.

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

He said space is limited, so register at http://twon.tamu.edu/training or by calling 979-845-1461 as soon as possible.

The training is one of 30 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,” he said.

More than 1 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, according to Gholson.

“Private well owners are independently responsible for monitoring the quality of their wells,” he said. “They are responsible for ensuring their drinking water is safe. This means they are responsible for all aspects of the water system – testing, inspecting, maintaining – and 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, the AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.