CORVALLIS - The Oregon State Extension Service and the Umatilla County Soil and Water Conservation District will sponsor a two-day well water training workshop in Hermiston Oct. 29-30.

The application deadline is Oct. 21.

The workshop will include sessions on ground water hydrology, well construction, septic tanks, water testing and treatment, lawn and garden issues, and manure management.

The training will help rural homeowners understand how to protect the quality of their drinking water and maintain waste water disposal systems using the Home-A-Syst Homestead Assessment System.

The potential for ground water contamination from rural homesteads of 20 acres or less has been identified as an area of concern by the Lower Umatilla Basin Ground water Management Area Citizens Committee, according to Michaele Pelzer of the Umatilla County SWCD. She added that the Well Water Training will prepare local professionals and concerned rural residents to help reduce this threat to ground water quality in their community.

Many rural residents are unaware of steps they can take to prevent contamination of the ground water supplying their well, said Gail Glick, water quality educator with the Oregon State University Extension Service.

"Our new Home-A-Syst Well Water Volunteer Project is designed to train a few members of neighborhoods and communities around the state so that they can share the best information available with their friends and family," she said.

Full scholarships are available for volunteers committing to 20 hours of service to the program. Tuition for those not on scholarship is $150. For more information or an application, contact Gail Glick, at 541-737-6294 or Michaele Pelzer, at 541-278-3835.

Source: 

Gail Glick, 541-737-6294

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