UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. -- Does your water come from a private well or spring versus a public water supply? Are you concerned that your drinking water may become contaminated? Are you on a public water supply, but interested in educating your community about private water systems?

If you answered "yes" to any of these questions, and you live in Pennsylvania, Penn State's College of Agricultural Sciences urges you to join the "Master Well Owner Network" -- a program designed to train volunteers about proper construction and maintenance of private water wells.

This network, funded by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, is being initiated by the Penn State Institutes of the Environment, in cooperation with Penn State Cooperative Extension, the Pennsylvania Groundwater Association, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection and the Environmental Protection Agency Region III.

The network currently is seeking 240 volunteers to be educated and trained on all aspects of water quality, source water protection, and proper well location, construction and maintenance.

All volunteers will receive a free analysis of their home water supply, a sanitary well cap, a handbook of educational materials, a workshop completion certificate, access to Penn State water experts, an invitation to the Pennsylvania Groundwater Association summer conference and free admission to the Master Well Owners Network Conference in Fall 2005.

Volunteers will be required to attend a free one-day training workshop, provide education to private well owners in their community and write a simple one-page annual summary of their educational activities.

Pennsylvania residents interested in learning more about their private water system and how to participate in this program can visit the Web at http://mwon.cas.psu.edu or contact Stephanie Odenwald, Master Well Owner Program coordinator, by phone at 814-865-2250 or by e-mail at mwon@psu.edu.

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EDITORS: Contact Stephanie Odenwald at 814-865-2250 or by e-mail at mwon@psu.edu.

Contact:

Jeff Mulhollem jjm29@psu.edu 814-863-2719 814-863-9877 fax #300