The Texas Well Owner Network began serving Texans in 2011, aiming to monitor and maintain water quality while also educating new or established private water well owners.
The Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service professionals who now deliver TWON programs have the same goals today and have worked extensively over the last 14 years curating and perfecting their approach to education for the public. TWON provides two educational programs: a one-hour program called Well Informed, and a four-hour program called Well Educated. Both begin with residents bringing in well water samples for analysis.
“When was the last time you had your well water tested?” is TWON Coordinator Joel Pigg’s favorite question to ask attendees. He said the response is nearly always “never.”
An AgriLife Extension Specialist in College Station, Pigg said that is either because the individual has no idea that well water is not regularly tested like city water is, or because the landowners have lived on the property for years and say the water “tastes completely fine.” But, even water that tastes, smells or looks fine should be tested once a year, he said.
How TWON water testing works
The collected water samples are tested by TWON personnel (utilizing portable laboratory equipment) in the local extension or groundwater conservation district (GCD) office for nitrate levels, absence or presence of coliform bacteria or E. coli bacteria, and in some parts of the state, arsenic levels.
Estimated reading time: 5 minutes
Thousands of Texans have access to well water quality testing because of the TWON team’s tireless educational work
More Information
- Upcoming TWON well water testing events, TWON
- Frequently Asked Questions for well owners, TWON
- How often should I get my well water tested?, TWRI
- Texas Well Owner Network honored with prestigious state environmental award, AgriLife Today
- After Hurricane Harvey, AgriLife Extension and TWON played key role in Rebuild Texas efforts, AgriLife Today
- Texas Well Owner Network publication wins educational materials award, AgriLife Today
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Pigg said that testing water wells is vital because even if the water tastes fine, there could be harmful bacteria, chemicals or naturally occurring pollutants that can harm humans in it.
The next day or later that week, residents return to receive their water quality results and attend an educational program.
Pigg helps residents interpret and understand the results of their water screening and connects them to resources needed to remediate any water quality issues.
First-time landowners learn well basics
Although this program has been around for 14 years, the TWON team is constantly changing their practices to better align their goals with the needs of Texas well owners. TWON can now help connect well owners to well-health-monitoring tools and services to keep them informed about the availability of water in their well.
There are over one million private water wells in Texas, which provide water to 2,230,000 citizens — equal to the population of Houston.
"It is fun for us to see the educational and safety benefits we are providing to these excited new landowners."
TWON has seen a steady increase in wells over the past decade and a significant increase in first-time well owners. This trend is growing, Pigg said, and TWON is helping fill the resulting educational gaps — teaching landowners about water conservation, what a water well is and the responsibilities of a well owner.
According to Pigg, in recent years, many people have moved from larger cities to rural areas, and many are unaware that their water is not provided by the city. He has seen individuals come to the program not knowing that they have a well house, see a photo in his presentation and, “it is like a light comes on and they realize what this shed is on their land,” he said.
“It is fun for us to see the educational and safety benefits we are providing to these excited new landowners.”
Pigg emphasized that TWON is not a regulatory group, but solely an educational tool. TWON strives to not make individuals feel bad for not knowing certain things, but rather equip them with proper well management knowledge.
Drought impacts on groundwater
Challenges to well health have changed over time. Due to the increase in droughts in Texas, well depth is getting deeper, he said, and bacteria is known to occur more frequently in wells where less water is moving in the aquifer.
E. coli numbers tend to rise with the longevity of a drought. Pigg explained that this is typically because there is not enough water to flush out the harmful bacteria. Bacteria like this can cause moderate to severe illnesses in those who consume the water.
Local community leaders and AgriLife Extension agents look forward to TWON coming to their county, because of the long-lasting benefits it provides to local residents.
“At the TWON program, citizens and landowners learned the importance of regularly testing water for water quality, septic safety, rainwater collection, riparian areas and water conservation,” said Kelly Tarla, a Burnet County extension agent. “I feel like having these programs in 2023 changed the trajectory of the way our citizens think about water.”
TWON serves Texans even in the most remote counties.
As Luke Hendryx, Brewster-Jeff Davis county extension agent, said, “the water testing that the TWON program provided to stakeholders in Far West Texas helped to fill a void for a vital service that is difficult for most citizens to receive due to the remoteness of our area.
"Stakeholders consistently make requests for TWON to return to the area," he said.
"Stakeholders consistently make requests for TWON to return to the area."
John Smith, an AgriLife Extension program specialist in College Station, worked with water well screening in the early days of the program. TWON began as a water quality testing idea by Monty Dozier, Ph.D., now director of AgriLife Extension's Disaster Assessment and Recovery Unit, Smith said. It evolved into a program that included septic systems and surface pollution, in collaboration with Diane Boellstorff, Ph.D., professor and extension specialist emerita. Drew Gholson, Ph.D., who now leads the National Center for Alluvial Aquifer Research at Mississippi State University, was the first TWON coordinator. He served Texans in that role for years and helped establish the program and its curriculum.
“I believe when we walk into Texas county AgriLife Extension offices with TWON, what we are doing is one of the most relevant education programs that they will have in that county office," Smith said. "The addition of Joel Pigg to the staff has enhanced our work with GCDs across the state with his background as a GCD manager before coming into our water quality program.”
As Texas continues to grow and change, TWON will continue working to ensure that each and every resident dependent on a well has the chance to have safe drinking water.
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Authors
Madison Pigg was a communications intern at the Texas Water Resources Institute. In this role she assisted with social media, helped develop and publish newsletters, and wrote and edited news releases and other educational material published by the institute.