A classroom where well owners are learning about clean water — Kevin Wagner, Oklahoma Water Resources Center director, talks to well owners during the 2022 Oklahoma Well Owner Network Program. The 2023-24 program has kicked off, and coordinators are seeking out communities that need help with well water testing. (Photo by OSU Agriculture)

Oklahoma Water Resources Center to offer free water well testing

Tuesday, October 17, 2023

Media Contact: Alisa Boswell-Gore | Office of Communications & Marketing, OSU Agriculture | 405-744-7115 | alisa.gore@okstate.edu

Oklahoma well owners are on their way to healthier drinking water this fall thanks to the Oklahoma Well Owner Network.

The program, led by the Oklahoma Water Resources Center and Oklahoma State University Extension, provides free residential well water testing and training to rural counties in Oklahoma through a $200,000 grant from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and a $350,000 grant from the USDA-National Institute of Food and Agriculture’s Rural Health and Safety Education Program.

“In 2018, we surveyed citizens across Oklahoma on what their biggest water resource concerns were,” said Dr. Kevin Wagner, water resource center director. “Consistently across the state, Oklahomans’ key concern was drinking water quality."

To address water issues in rural Oklahoma, the water center conducted a pilot program in Alfalfa, Pontotoc and Tillman counties in spring 2022 with the help of OSU environmental science students. More than 150 water samples were tested during the program with two-thirds of participants saying they planned to adopt annual well water testing.

“This program demonstrates OSU's land-grant mission in terms of Extension, ag research and education,” said Dr. Abu Mansaray, a research specialist with the water center, who has helped plan and execute the water testing. “We are reaching out to Oklahoma communities to help address a critical problem that is not covered by federal and state agencies.”

In the Oklahoma Well Owner Network, well owners in select counties submit a water sample from their private well for testing. Researchers at the Oklahoma Water Resource Center then test the water samples for nitrates, total dissolved solids (salts), pH levels and bacteria. The test results are relayed to the well owners within one week.

Beginning this year, Extension specialists will partner with rural libraries to distribute educational materials specific to Oklahoma that support well maintenance and water quality improvement.

“We’ve hosted a few events at county fairs so far this year and have had good turnout,” said Dr. Jeff Sadler, water resource Extension specialist. “We are now looking for new opportunities to take this program to counties in Oklahoma where people are most interested in learning more information about their own well water and how to maintain it.”

The network will operate from now through spring 2024 and will conduct 24 testing programs across the state. Those interested in a well water testing event in their county can contact their local county educator or the Oklahoma Water Resources Center at water@okstate.edu about getting an event scheduled in the coming months.

This material is based upon work supported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention through a $200,000 grant and by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture of the U.S. Department of Agriculture under award number 2023-46100-41052 for $349,956. Any opinions, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed in this publication are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the view of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.