Writer: Kay Ledbetter
Contact: Joel Pigg, 979-845-1461, j-pigg@tamu.edu
Dr. Diane Boellstorff, 979-458-3562, dboellstorff@tamu.edu
David “Joel” Pigg is combining his Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service and water conservation district experiences in his new position as the Texas Well Owner Network, or TWON, coordinator.
Pigg began his new position April 15, and is located in the Texas A&M University soil and crop sciences department at College Station.
David “Joel” Pigg joins the Department of Soil and Crop Sciences as the new coordinator for the Texas Well Owners Network.
The TWON program, http://twon.tamu.edu/, provides private water well screenings and wellhead protection educational trainings to private water well managers.
“I’m very excited to be back in the soil and crop sciences department after spending the last 12 years in Real County,” Pigg said. “I look forward to working with our AgriLife Extension agents, groundwater district personnel and private water well owners across the state to help them learn about water quality and help them protect this valuable resource.”
Pigg, a native of Brownfield, earned his bachelor’s degree from Southwestern University and a master’s degree from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. He worked for eight years as an AgriLife Extension associate in the soil and crop sciences department before spending almost four years as an AgriLife Extension county agent in Real County.
He has spent the past eight years as the general manager of the Real-Edwards Conservation and Reclamation District in Camp Wood, vice chair of the Plateau Regional Water Planning Group and coordinator and presiding officer for Groundwater Management Area No. 7.
“With Joel’s experience as an AgriLife Extension agent and associate, he well understands the agency and our role in the state and delivering educational programming,” said Dr. Diane Boellstorff, AgriLife Extension water resources specialist in the department of soil and crop sciences.
“His past work experiences have required that he work with the public and organizational representatives at county, regional and state levels to accomplish water management goals,” she said. “He is uniquely prepared to quickly assume full TWON coordinator responsibilities, allowing us to continue efficiently fulfilling deliverables for this key project.”
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 Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences.