A Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, training has been scheduled for May 26 in Odessa. Well owners can also bring a sample of their well water the day before the training if they’d like to have it tested.
Water well sample drop-off will be May 24, the day before the events, from 8:30-10:30 a.m. at the same locations as container pick-up.
The “Well Educated” trainings, which are free and open to the public, will be from 8 a.m.-12 p.m. on May 26 at the Ector County Coliseum Barn A, 4201 Andrews Highway, Odessa.
Attendees can register on the Texas Well Owner Network website or by calling 979-845-1461.
Well water testing instructions
For a cost of $10 per sample, owners may have their well water tested on May 24. The 26 meeting will include information explaining the results. Samples will be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids, arsenic and bacteria.
Pick up three sample containers and collection instructions within the week before the events from the AgriLife Extension office for Midland County, 2445 E. Highway 80, Midland; or Ector County, 1010 E. 8th St. #220, Odessa.
Texas Well Owner Network program
More than a 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.
Joel Pigg, AgriLife Extension program specialist and TWON coordinator, Bryan-College Station, said the TWON program is for Texas residents who depend on household wells for their water needs.
“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. “It allows them to learn more about how to improve and protect their community water resources.”
Pigg said private well owners are independently responsible for all aspects of ensuring their drinking water system is safe — testing, inspecting and maintaining it for monitoring the quality of their wells.
“This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their wells,” he said.
Pigg said the training is one of several 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.
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 TWRI, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.