A Gradual Return to In-Person Outreach for the Illinois State Water Survey

In August and early September, staff from the Illinois State Water Survey participated in both the 2021 Illinois State Fair in Springfield, IL and the 2021 Farm Progress Show in Decatur, IL. At the Illinois State Fair, the ISWS had a booth in the “Conservation World” from August 13-15 and August 20-22. According to the Illinois Department of Agriculture, the 2021 Illinois State Fair saw over 472,000 visitors, making it the second highest attended fair since the department began tracking formal attendance numbers in 2014.

In addition, the ISWS had a booth in the “Partners in Conservation” tent from August 31-September 2 at the Farm Progress Show. The Farm Progress Show is the nation’s largest outdoor farm event and attendees and included producers from 46 states and around the world. ISWS estimated to have directly helped at least 278 private well owners at the Illinois State Fair over 6 days and at least 230 private well owners at the Farm Progress Show over 3 days, with many signing up for the Private Well Class.

The Private Well Class program is a free, grant-funded program that provides education and outreach, both online and in-person, to boost knowledge and competency of well owners as well as the thousands of dedicated environmental health, cooperative extension, and water well professionals that serve well owners every day.

Staff not only discussed the water cycle and the role that groundwater has in it, but also had an interactive sand tank flow model that demonstrates how groundwater moves in an aquifer and how contamination can affect private wells using colored dye. The display included a working hand pump for kids to try, which demonstrated how everyone in the “good old days” got water from a well. Private well owners in attendance also had the opportunity to chat with our Privatewellclass.org staff and experts. Information was provided on how to sign up for the free 10-lesson Private Well Class, how to get your well water tested, and where to find other resources available for well owners who want to learn more about how to properly care for their well.

Brochures? For Sure!

How do you get your message out? In-person workshops? What about online webinars or social media? Do flyers still work? What about brochures?

Professionals conducting education and outreach activities often wonder if brochures have gone out of style. We, at the Private Well Class, recently launched a campaign to distribute several thousand brochures—and it was a resounding success! This indicates that brochures are not quite yet a way of the past. If you have ever considered a campaign featuring brochures, flyers, or pamphlets, consider what we have learned from our most recent campaign.

We often discuss barriers to reaching well owners, both behaviorally and demographically. Using a combination of online and in-person methods to help educate individual private well owners helps us extend our reach. This year, our staff developed and distributed a Spanish and English version of a brochure for partners to hand out to well owners. The brochure contains information on useful steps that a well owner can take to make sure that their drinking water is actually safe to consume.

In order to reach as many well owners as possible, we ordered and mailed out brochures for partners to distribute, at no cost to them. Extending the network through our partners was a key component of this campaign. By helping one another, both parties benefitted – our partners received free brochures to help well owners in their county, while we were able to extend our universal message of helping well owners be a better steward of their well and water system.

For the first brochure mailing, we mailed out over 31,000 copies of our English and Spanish brochures. In our second brochure mailing, we are planning to send out 21,000 more.

We asked partners who have received the brochures to give us their feedback. Some of the responses were insightful in terms of how the brochures were distributed and why they were so popular among partners:

“Thank you for providing these brochures. We are a small Health Department with limited funding so this enables us to provide quality education to our well owners.” - Toledo, IL

“Thank you so much for providing this resource. It is a great place to start a conversation with a well owner about being a good steward of their drinking water.” - Columbus, OH

“I think this is a fantastic idea for private owners.” - Montesano, WA

“I pass these out to the well owners when I sample their wells. I also hand them out at health fairs and environmental festivals. Very useful information.” - Wyandotte, OK

“We distribute to real estate agents who work closely with property owners on wells.” - Lincoln City, OR

Want brochures to distribute? Have a questions? You can email us at info@privatewellclass.org to be placed on the wait list for our next mailing or to reach us with your inquiry.

Jerry Tinoco Discusses Reaching Spanish-Speaking Communities

The Private Well Class is currently putting effort forth to translate many of our resources to Spanish. The real challenge that we have encountered is getting these resources out the individuals that could really use them. We reached out to Gerardo “Jerry” Tinoco Jr. to interview him about his efforts in predominantly Spanish speaking communities. Jerry is a Rural Development Specialist for the Rural Community Assistance Corporation (RCAC) and currently resides in California. Jerry works with Spanish speaking populations and provides many services in Spanish for private well owners.

Q: What is your current position and role in regards to your program working with Spanish-speaking communities?

JT: Currently I work in various capacities with Spanish speaking communities. I work both in private well related programs as well as in non-private well related programs. For my private well work, I mostly work in educating and outreaching to private well owners. I have conducted private well assessments and water quality sampling for Spanish speaking well owners and plan to hold a private well class for Spanish speaking communities dependent on private well systems. I also translate resources, factsheets, presentations, etc.

Q: What sort of situations do you encounter most often with working with a predominantly Spanish-speaking community that relies on private well water as a primary source of drinking water?:

JT: There is a general lack of basic operation and maintenance with most private well communities, both Spanish speaking and not. People are just unaware about the things they should be doing to not only ensure their well runs efficiently and effectively for a long time, but also what they should do to protect groundwater. Oftentimes, people are renters on properties with private wells and thus never really get invested in the maintenance of their private well system. I think this general lack of knowledge is fairly common in any private well community, Spanish speaking or not.

Q: Can you please highlight some challenges that partners may come across in private well outreach in Spanish-speaking populations?

JT: Unfortunately given the current political climate, I think one of the biggest challenges in working to outreach for private wells in Spanish speaking populations is simply gaining their trust. In working with Spanish speaking populations, one needs to be mindful that some may have a general suspicion of people going to their homes. But aside from that, a common challenge for any private well outreach is conveying the importance to their health and finances that properly operating and maintaining a well system has.

Q: In your opinion, what’s the number one thing that partners can do in order to do a better job of outreach in Spanish-speaking communities?

JT: I think the most important and basic thing anyone can do to increase outreach in Spanish-speaking communities is simply to put resources and a deliberate effort to reach out in Spanish speaking communities. It sounds obvious, but honestly simply just trying will yield results. Often times, outreach efforts are not accessible to Spanish speaking communities or poor/rural areas in general as well. Invitations and fliers will be in English only which already will not get you any Spanish speaking well owners. If the workshops themselves are in English only, that too will deter people from attending. In rural areas, e-vites or online webinars/factsheets may not be accessible to many. So as simple as it sounds I think the number one thing that we can all do is to allocate resources specifically for the purpose of educating Spanish-speaking communities. Put out fliers and invitations in Spanish. Outreach door to door in Spanish. Host Spanish meetings and workshops. Not translated by interpreters, but actually taught and led in Spanish.

Partner Interview with Janet Agnoletti, BACOG

The Private Well Class recognizes partners who have exceptional local and community programs. Janet Agnoletti and the Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) in Illinois have developed a strong network with partners, useful strategies, and overcome challenges.

We interviewed Janet to gain insight on the inner workings of a community program and how they strive to attain success in their goals and objectives.

Q:  Can you tell me a little bit of your position, background, and what your role is at BACOG?

JA: I am the Executive Director of BACOG, and I started in this position in 2000. I have a master’s degree in City and Regional Planning from Illinois Institute of Technology. I worked as a planner for the City of Evanston in my early career and then as a consultant to a number of suburban communities and not-for-profits. My interests have always included environmental issues – which are a critical consideration in regional land planning..

Q:  Can you talk a little about what BACOG is and what it does in respect to water resource initiatives?

JA: The Barrington Area Council of Governments (BACOG) was formed in 1970, and it is a regional planning organization comprised of local government members in the northwest suburban area (of Chicago). The organization addresses: planning, development and land use issues; environmental matters including groundwater; legislative advocacy; regional emergency preparedness; training, workshops and networking for members; and intergovernmental collaboration and communications. 

I started the groundwater initiative in 2001; while most natural resources had been extensively studied in the early decades of BACOG, there was little information about groundwater. In the BACOG region of approximately 80-90 square miles, the vast majority of wells – maybe 99% -- are finished in the shallow aquifer system. There are over 7,800 wells here, most of which are private residential wells. With one exception, all the municipal wells are in the shallow aquifer system too. So my goal in 2001 was to study this resource, to identify where the water is, how much there is, what its quality is, and if it is sustainable. We have accomplished a great deal of this work and more.

Q:  Who is BACOG’s primary audience?

JA: The municipal and township members of BACOG guide, support, adopt and participate in BACOG’s programs. As a group of regional governments, they can do more research and programming, and do it more cost-efficiently, than if each government acted independently. They do this on behalf of the residents of the entire region. BACOG’s programs benefit our government members with data, tools, advocacy and innovations, for instance, and some of 

BACOG’s programs directly benefit residents of the area such as BACOG’s private well water testing. Our recent project, the groundwater video for elementary school students, benefits children as well.

Q:  What sort of programs does BACOG offer to well owners/members in the community?

JA: BACOG offers private well water testing, a Level 1 program for bacteria and nitrates and a Level 2 program for natural water quality. We work in partnership with Lake County Health Department for Level 1, and with Illinois State Water Survey laboratory for Level 2. 

At each Level 1 event, we provide education in the form of resources, materials, and groundwater experts to answer questions to residents who participate. We also provide education through a presentation by experts at every water testing event, and from time-to-time at special groundwater programs for the public. During the year, BACOG provides educational materials to the public, both directly and through newsletter and website articles for our members to share. Materials are always available at events and the BACOG office about aquifers, groundwater, well and septic maintenance, bacteria in water systems, etc. BACOG has developed four brochures to date on water topics that are widely distributed. 

Our recent groundwater video project offers the video, a “Skype with a Scientist” session following the video viewing, and maps and materials for use in the classroom, including loan of a custom-built aquifer model (sand, gravel, water) for teachers to demonstrate in the classroom. The video includes information about wells, septic systems and aquifers.

Watch the video below:

Q:  What sort of outreach approaches does BACOG utilize and how are you doing that outreach?

JA: We advertise and promote our testing programs widely in the community, in press releases and articles that are sent to the news media, in newsletter articles and announcements that are used by our member governments in their publications and websites, and through cooperative local organizations and businesses distributing materials for us. 

BACOG has a Water Resources Committee that is comprised of representatives from every member government and from regional conservation organizations, and individuals who are interested and bring environmental/other expertise to the study of water. Their involvement provides another avenue for promotion of BACOG activities to their own residents, members and neighbors. 

The WRC also has six “member advisors” who are professionals primarily from the State Water and Geological Surveys, who provide advice to me as I develop new programs for our region. We share data collected here with the Surveys.

Q:  In your opinion, what type of program/outreach approach to well owners has been the most successful and why?

JA: When BACOG first unveiled its aquifer study and mapping project, community members were not as interested in the hydrogeology of the local groundwater source as they were in the region’s (and their own) groundwater quality. So I refocused our educational efforts to the questions we heard most, and that was the impetus for creating the private well water testing program. 

It has been a great success, and we attract 350-400 households to each test event and in the process share a great deal of information and materials about wells, septic systems, the local aquifers and hydrogeology, maintenance and repair, water quality and treatment systems, salting techniques, the BACOG water levels monitoring program, etc. We pique their interest with the testing, and we inundate them with education! 

I did a little analysis with Lake County Health Department last year, where we showed that BACOG-area residents were testing their well water at the county at a rate over 600% greater than before we started the BACOG program. I know that the fact that BACOG has provided the testing program, educational resources, promotion through the media and our governments, projects like the new video, and a consistent positive message about groundwater has made a big difference. People better understand the need to be informed about and protective of their own regional water resource.

Q:  Do you work with any local/state/federal partners and how have those partners helped BACOG’s goals and objectives?

JA: BACOG is fortunate to have worked with the Illinois State Water Survey, the Illinois State Geological Survey, and the U.S. Geological Survey in one capacity or another over the years. We also have worked with Lake County Health Department professional staff for information, educational assistance, input, speakers and partnership. We continue to work with a private hydrogeologist who was instrumental in designing programs and advising on water supply, quality and sustainability since 2001. 

• Our hydrogeologist from KOT Environmental Consulting contributed many hours of work and advice to designing and creating the aquifer study and mapping project, the groundwater recharge map, and other groundwater programs.  
• Lake County Health Department has been a tremendous resource (and WRC member) in providing statistical data, education, and other input to BACOG’s programs. 
• The Surveys’ professional staff input and advice to our programs has been invaluable, and they have provided speakers for community events and to the Executive Board in support of BACOG projects. 
• The ISGS developed 18 new monitoring wells in the BACOG area about 10 years ago with support and assistance from our staff and government members, and we now use those wells for annual water level measurements under our monitoring program. In years that BACOG could not take measurements in those wells, the USGS provided staff to do so.
• The ISWS included wells in the BACOG area in its Kane County study, which provided a baseline of water levels for 2003. 
• The partnership with ISWS for the BACOG Level 2 water quality testing makes our program credible, easy and affordable to residents, and the same is true of the Level 1 partnership with Lake County. 

Additionally, our WRC representatives from organizations such as Citizens for Conservation, the Barrington Area Development Council, the Garden Clubs Council, the Barrington Rotary, and companies such as Angel Water Inc. and Baxter Woodman Engineers have provided invaluable service and work in support of BACOG programs. A few of BACOG’s goals are: to better understand and inform the public about the shallow aquifer system, our primary source of water; to develop data-based information about aquifer water supply and quality; to provide tools and programs that will help protect groundwater supply and quality; and to help residents keep their private well water safe and clean.

Q:  What is the largest challenge for BACOG and how have you been addressing that challenge?

JA: Probably the biggest challenge is funding, which has not been available from state or federal sources for groundwater programs. BACOG programs have been entirely funded by our local government members. One recent exception is the granting of electronic equipment from USGS for three wells in the aquifer water level monitoring program. Other than this, all BACOG’s groundwater programs have been member-funded since inception of the initiative in 2001, despite best efforts to obtain outside grant funds. 

To learn more about BACOG's current and continuing efforts, you can visit their website at: 
BACOG (Barrington Area Council of Governments)