A Southern Region Well Owner Network: Development and Implementation

TThe Southern Region Well Owner Network (SRWON) will adopt and tailor for implementation in the Southern Region the highly-successful approaches and materials used by the Pennsylvania and Virginia Master Well Owner Networks, and the Montana Well Educated program. This effort also includes the development or adaptation of statespecific publications addressing various aspects of water well management and protection. A curriculum will be utilized to train a network of private well managers regarding BMPs for safeguarding private well water quality and aquifer integrity. As part of the program, participants will be trained and enlisted to educate and share information resources with 5-10 additional individuals or families through direct contacts. Alternatively, some states may structure their WON to require a specified level of participant volunteer service to qualify for Master Well Owner status. Training workshops will be delivered to private well managers including state-selected target audiences and CEAs. The workshops will be designed to be completed in one day and will be 8 hours in length. CEAs will assist with delivery of local workshops through program advertisement using newsletters, newspapers, radio/tv and other local media, selection of a local venue, and identification of program sponsors. Evaluation of the SRWON will include comprehensively measuring and reporting project outcomes, which will include changes in private well owner knowledge, changes in behavior and practices, and changes in the quality of water delivered for well owner use and contributed to the aquifer. Outcomes expected are related to program efforts to educate and motivate behavioral change amplified by networks of trainees as they share information with their neighbors and communities. Pre- and post-training surveys and six-month post-training follow-up surveys will be used to assess knowledge increase, behavioral changes and delivery of water of improved quality for well owner use and contributed to the aquifer.