A Texas Well Owner Network, TWON, training is scheduled for March 4 in Luling.
The Well Educated training, which is free and open to the public, will be from 8 a.m.-noon at the Luling Foundation Headquarters, 523 S. Mulberry Ave.
Attendees can register at https://tx.ag/TWONTrainings 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 March 3. The March 4 meeting will include information explaining the results. Well owners can pick up two sample containers and collection instructions for testing in the week before the event.
Pick up locations are the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension Service office for Caldwell County, 1403 Blackjack St., Suite B, Lockhart; AgriLife Extension office for Hays County, 200 Stillwater Road, Wimberley; Plum Creek Conservation District, 1101 W. San Antonio St., Lockhart; or Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer Conservation District, 1124 Regal Row, Austin.
Water well sample drop-off is March 3 from 8-10 p.m. at the same locations as container pick-up. Well samples will be screened for nitrates, total dissolved solids and bacteria.
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 owners are responsible for all aspects of ensuring their drinking water system is safe — testing, inspecting and maintaining it.
“This training will help private well owners to understand and care for their well,” he said.
Pigg said the training is one of several being conducted statewide through the TWON 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,” Pigg 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 TWRI, part of Texas A&M AgriLife Research, AgriLife Extension and the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Texas A&M University.
Call Pigg at 979-845-1461 or email him at [email protected] for additional information or questions.
