ODESSA, Texas — Following the Permian Basin Container fire that happened last month, several nearby residents are searching for some peace of mind when it comes to their private well water.
On Aug. 5, the Texas A&M University AgriLife Extension distributed nearly 200 water sample kits to Ector County residents. Approximately 130 of them were dropped-off for screenings the following day.
The samples are undergoing nitrate, PH, TD screenings, as well as incubated.
"I'm glad the county extension office reached out to us, and we can come from College Station to get this program done for everybody," said Extension Specialist, Joel Pigg. "The response shows me that they are concerned about their drinking water, so hopefully we can give a majority of them good results."
According to Pigg, due to the level of samples, approximately 3 to 5% of samples will test positive for E. Coli. "As the rest of the county extension staff can tell you, we had some high nitrate levels on some of these samples." Pigg also expects some of the screenings will reveal prevalence in coliform bacteria because it is a product of drought.
Ector County Commissioner Mike Gardner shared the county works closely with the Ector/Midland County AgriLife Extension.
"We got together, and Texas A&M brought their lab equipment in and it was just a team coming together to make this work right," said Commissioner Gardner. "This should help and it will give us a kind of idea of where we are at with our water...."
On Wednesday, Aug. 7, from 9 a.m. to noon, residents will receive their results individually. Additionally, an educational program based on the results will be presented by the Texas Well Owner Network and Texas A&M AgriLife Extension at the Permian Playhouse auditorium.
"If you'd like your results immediately and you would like to be able to ask questions, it's very important to come because we can fill you in on your questions.... I encourage people to interact with me so we can make this a good back and forth program so people can get their questions answered."