03/12/08 National Groundwater Awareness Week

This is National Groundwater Awareness Week. Cliff Treyens of the National Groundwater Association says if you live in a rural area and depend on a well for your water supply there are two things that you should always do to keep that system operating safely. TREYENS "First get regular maintenance of their water well system. The other major thing is to test their water once a year for bacteria, nitrates and anything of local concern." Treyens says those two steps should be taken annually. He likens it to a motor vehicle that needs regular maintenance to prevent breakdowns and costly repairs. TREYENS "Same way with a water well. You want to have somebody look under the hood as it were on a regular basis to prevent any serious problems from occurring. For those people who don't have private water wells we want them to know about this very important resource and what they can do to protect it. So we want to teach people what good stewardship means even if they don't have a well." The Idaho Department of Environmental Quality is offering free tests of Cassia County well water on March 29th. Residents can take a few ounces of their well water to a temporary testing center in Burley for a confidential analysis. DEQ says tests eight years ago did show unsafe nitrate levels in 20 percent of the 234 wells tested. Today's Idaho Ag News Bill Scott