The Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, will host private water well screenings and results meetings July 7-8. The meetings will be in Castro, Hale and Lamb counties and will allow residents to have their well water screened.
There is no cost for the water well screenings. Water samples will be screened for contaminants, including total coliform bacteria, E. coli, nitrate-nitrogen, arsenic and salinity.
The TWON program serves residents who depend on household wells for their water needs, said Joel Pigg, a 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.”
Well owners can bring water samples from all of the wells on their property. They can also bring water samples from before and after any water treatment systems that may be working with the wells.
Water sampling meeting information
— Castro County: July 7, water samples can be dropped off from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The location is the AgriLife Extension office for Castro County, 205 N Broadway Street, Dimmitt.
— Hale County: July 7, water samples can be dropped off from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The location is the AgriLife Extension office for Hale County, 225 Broadway, Suite 6, Plainview.
— Lamb County: Tuesday, July, water samples can be dropped off from 8:30-11:30 a.m. The location is the AgriLife Extension office for Lamb County, 100 6th Drive, Room B-5, Littlefield.
The follow-up meeting to explain the results of the screenings will be from 6 – 8 p.m. on July 8. It will be held at the Olton Community Building, 406 2nd Street, Olton. Topics covered will include water well basics, water wells 101, water quality and sample results. Please RSVP for the follow-up meeting by July 2 to the Castro County Extension office at 806-647-4115 for a meal count for the program.
Sampling instructions
Attendees are asked to use the water sample instructions and form available at twon.tamu.edu. A water sample form must be completed for each sample submitted.
In addition to TWON’s water screening services, additional samples may be brought to the program for a comprehensive analysis to be performed by the Soil, Water and Forage Testing Laboratory at Texas A&M University. The submittal form for this sample is at soiltesting.tamu.edu/water-testing/.
Pigg said it is essential for those submitting samples to attend the follow-up meeting. At this follow-up they will receive results, learn corrective measures for identified problems and improve their understanding of private well management.
To learn more about the programs offered through the network or to find additional resources, visit twon.tamu.edu. For more information on the water screening contact Pigg at 979-321-5946 or j-pigg@tamu.edu. Or, Kristie Keys, AgriLife Extension agent, at 806-647-4115.
AgriLife Extension and Texas Water Resources Institute, TWRI, present the screenings. TWRI is a unit of Texas A&M AgriLife Research that combines expertise 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.
