Students Try on New “Hat”
Water well screening program provides efficient water for urban consumers and irrigation
By Jenna Smith, May 2005
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Monty Dozier
Experts in the water science field are getting younger and younger. Nearly 200 high school and middle school students in El Paso County screened water samples for private well owners in the area.
Monty Dozier, water resources specialist with Texas Cooperative Extension, working with local County Extension Agents Ray Bader, Orlando Flores and Jimmy Rodgers, conducted the private water well screenings as a component of the El Paso Youth Water Leadership Institute at three El Paso County schools—Clint High School, Fabens Middle School and Canutillo High School.
Dozier said students benefited from the hands-on aspect of the program and enjoyed learning how to analyze water. The methods they used were similar to those used in the real world. In addition, land owners received water quality information for free.
El Paso County Extension agents solicited teachers to participate in the screening program. Teachers then chose which students would take part in the water sampling opportunity. Water sample kits and bags were distributed to county landowners who wanted to have their water tested on a volunteer basis.
Clint High School students participating in the screening began by attending a watershed protection seminar at the school. Similar, condensed versions of the presentation were also presented at Fabens and Canutillo high schools. Dozier said the seminar introduced students to how water behaves in the environment, potential sources of contamination, water use trends and how our everyday activities impact the world around us.
“The seminar was a lead-in to why we screen or test water for various contaminants,” Dozier said. “Students learned how to make a determination of water quality based on available data.”
During the two-day program, students were trained in lab analysis and reporting using mobile lab techniques. More than 56 water samples were screened for the presence of contaminants, especially fecal coliform bacteria. Both animal and human sources contribute to fecal coliform contamination.
Dozier said that many times, water quality problems associated with fecal coliform is a local issue around an individual well.
“The program helps private well owners make informed decisions on how to use their water to reduce health impacts on themselves, their families, livestock, pets and plants,” Dozier said. “Students learn how their individual activities and those of others impact the quality of water in the watershed where they live.”
The screening program is offered to counties across Texas as a means to educate private well owners on knowing the water quality of their well and how to better manage and protect their well from contamination.
The water well screening program began in 1999 and has grown each year to include additional counties in various parts of the state.
“We have been asked back to several of the same counties year after year,” Dozier said. “Our main message that we try to drive home for the students is that everyone lives in a watershed, and everyone impacts the quality of water in that watershed.”
