Well Plugging Grants Open to Boone, Howard, Cooper Systems

Public water systems in Boone, Howard and Cooper counties can now apply for up to $20,000 from the state to plug wells that could contaminate groundwater. The Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced the Well Plugging Grant on Oct. 26.

Who can apply and what it pays for

The grant is open to community and not-for-profit noncommunity public water systems with at least one active or emergency well. Those are the systems that serve towns, subdivisions, mobile home parks, churches, camps and similar places with their own wells. The money pays up to $20,000 per project, as a reimbursement, to properly plug wells that could pose a contamination risk to groundwater used by a regulated public water system.

A system must have a fully executed financial assistance agreement with the department before it spends anything on the project. Costs incurred earlier are not reimbursed. The department says the funding comes wholly or partly from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Deadlines

Applications are accepted through Feb. 28, 2027, in two windows:

• Nov. 1 to Dec. 31, 2026: the priority window, when projects are selected competitively.
• Jan. 1 to Feb. 28, 2027: applications may be awarded first-come, first-served if funds remain.

Applicants apply through the department’s Funding Opportunities Portal, using the Access Request page on dnr.mo.gov. Questions go to the Source Water Protection Program Coordinator at 573-526-0269 or SourceWaterProtection@dnr.mo.gov.

What it means locally

The release does not name any Boone, Howard or Cooper county systems and gives no county totals, so it is not clear which local systems have wells to plug or plan to apply. Any eligible system in the three counties, or in neighboring Callaway County, can use the same portal and phone number. Residents who get water from a small system can ask its operator whether an old or unused well is on the list.

Groundwater protection has been in the news lately. Rocheport Times reported on a new report that found PFAS at all 20 Missouri water testing sites it examined, though none named so far were near Rocheport or the Missouri River. An earlier look at bacteria in Missouri waterways covered surface water along our stretch of the river.