GULFPORT, Miss. -- The first 40 registrants for a private well workshop next month can have their well water screened free of charge.

The Mississippi Well Owner Network, a program of the Mississippi State University Extension Service, will be held 6-9 p.m. July 13 at the MSU Extension office in Harrison County, located at 2315 17th Street in Gulfport.

Sponsored by MSU Extension, the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality and the Mississippi State Department of Health, the free workshop is for coastal Mississippi homeowners who get their water from household wells. Participants will learn how to improve the functionality of their wells and how to manage, operate and protect their water sources.

Well owners can pick up sample bottles and sample collection instructions July 3-7 and July 10-12 at the MSU Extension office in Harrison County. The first 40 workshop registrants will have their water screened for free. Screenings for other participants will cost $25 per sample.

Screening results will be mailed to the well owner, along with a publication that explains how to interpret the results.

Preregister for the workshop by visiting http://gcd.msstate.edu/register or by calling 662-325-1788. At the registration page, look for the event titled “Mississippi Well Owner Network Program.”

Workshop participants may bring their water samples when they arrive for the workshop. Attendance is not required to have water screened. A water screening is not required to attend.

Each participant will receive free MSU Extension publications with additional information on private wells and septic systems. These publications are also available online at http://extension.msstate.edu/natural-resources/water/mswon.