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Thursday, March 20, 2008
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Here's a long background article about produced water from oil and gas operations and its potential as a new water source, from The Denver Post. Read the whole thing. Here are some excerpts:
Water from oil and gas wells has been a nuisance for the energy industry as long as it has been drilling in the West. It has become an even bigger headache now that companies are drilling in water-drenched coal seams for methane gas. To get the gas, an operator must first pump out the groundwater to reduce the pressure holding the methane in place. That water - sometimes loaded with salts and trace metals - is capable of withering crops and damaging soil. In southern Wyoming's Powder River Basin, new wells are producing 4,326 gallons of water a day, according to U.S. Geological Service data. The Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission predicts that between 2006 and 2029, coal-bed methane drillers will produce more than 11.6 billion barrels of water - enough water to fill Dillon Reservoir six times. Coal-bed methane wells also are being drilled in southern Colorado's Raton Basin, northern New Mexico's San Juan Basin and central Utah's Uinta. Some of those basins - like the Raton - produce large quantities of relatively fresh water, while others, such as the San Juan, are loaded with salts and metals. Water quality frequently dictates how operators dispose of coal-bed methane water. If the water contains high levels of sodium and metals, it's often reinjected into the ground. In the San Juan Basin, 99 percent of the water is reinjected, while in the Raton Basin, about one-third is reinjected. Still, most operators in the West "drill and spill" - routing water to a nearby creek or river for disposal. A few companies are now treating the water to remove the salt. Each disposal option carries a cost...
So far, drillers haven't found a way to make money off the produced water, and there's little economic incentive for them to do anything other than dump it in a creek or river. The water quality in the Powder River Basin is a mixed bag that has led to conflicting views about the water by landowners. On the east side of the basin near Gillette, where the water is relatively fresh, operators often discharge the water into local drainages without treating it. The practice, however, is coming under more scrutiny in Western states, and operators are now developing areas that contain poorer water. That's the case in the Big George coal seam, a gas-rich geologic formation in north-central Wyoming. In addition to having water about three times saltier than the eastern side of the basin, the Big George area overlies steeper terrain, making it more difficult to build reservoirs to hold the water, operators say. Dumping the water into a nearby river has led to conflicts with landowners in every state where the practice is allowed. Already, more than 20 landowners in Wyoming have sued operators for damages associated with the disposal of coal-bed methane water...
The idea of using water produced from energy development recently surfaced in Congress, where Western lawmakers - including Rep. Mark Udall, D-Eldorado Springs, and New Mexico Democratic Sen. Jeff Bingaman, chairman of the Senate Energy Committee - introduced a bill in April to fund the development of treatment technologies.
When the federal "More Water, More Energy, Less Waste Act" was introduced, project sponsors cited the Wellington project as the best example of what they were hoping to accomplish. "Energy and water are two of our most important resources, so it makes sense to pursue both," Udall said. In 2005, New Mexico energy companies backed state legislation seeking ways to dispose of coal-bed methane water to help cities and landowners...
Water produced from mature oil fields is often laden with high levels of salts, metals and other pollutants, and the Wellington field was no different. So in order to sell the water to Seaworth, Pomeroy had to first treat it. Pomeroy hired Fort Collins-based Stewart Environmental Consultants to devise a treatment technology that would filter and clean the oily residue clinging to the water. It took the firm about four years to get the $1.5 million facility up and running. Today, it treats 65 gallons per minute. Dave Stewart, the firm's president, said there were some operational hiccups but that the technology is effectively cleaning the water. "The water quality is better than the water in the irrigation ditch," said Stewart, who hopes to receive a patent for the technology. The number of energy-related water-treatment companies, such as Stewart's, is growing in the West as more states consider tightening water-quality rules.
Category: Colorado Water
6:56:48 AM 
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Florence is looking for more storage according to The Cañon City Daily Record. From the article:
In a meeting Monday, Florence City Council authorized City Manager Tom Piltingsrud to pursue an additional 950 acre feet for the master excess capacity contract and to negotiate with Southeastern Water Conservancy District on the National Environmental Protection Act process and the cost of water. "We had signed up for 1,300 acre feet of water in Pueblo Reservoir in the event it was not full of project water from the Western Slope," said Florence City Manager Tom Piltingsrud. "The Pueblo Reservoir is often not full. In fact, it's almost never full."[...]
The Southeastern Water Conservancy District decided to help small entities, who have signed up, including Florence, Poncha Springs, Salida and the Upper Arkansas Water Conservancy District. It would be difficult for entities to negotiate with the bureau because of the NEPA process. "An environmental impact study would be required any time you're going to do something in a federally-owned reservoir," Piltingsrud said. Southeastern Water Conservancy District is in the process of putting together an excess capacity storage plan to negotiate with the Bureau of Reclamation for water storage on behalf of the smaller entities. "They wanted to know if we wanted any more than the 1,300 acre feet we initially signed up for," he said. The city also requested "an additional 1,000 acre feet in an expanded reservoir if and when it is ever built." However, he determined that 950 acre feet would be the initial estimation for a reservoir to store 2,250 acre feet. Piltingsrud estimated the cost would be $22,000 or a total of around $52,000 for five years, which is Florence's percentage to go through the NEPA process. "Looking at the other storage options that we've looked at over the past few years, including the Oak Creek Reservoir and the Parkdale Pit, we felt we could certainly go ahead and enter into a contract for whatever amount we would like," he said. "This is the most reasonable and we're not going to have to pay for a reservoir." The city would need to see if the shares at Oak Creek could be transferred to the Pueblo Reservoir and whether there are any objections to the plan.
Category: Colorado Water
6:40:35 AM
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That pesky Clean Water Act has officials looking at asking for superfund status for the Pennsylvania Mine up in the Peru Creek Basin, according to The Summit Daily News. Just last year the basin was the poster child for "Good Samaritan" acts. From the article:
Sharply increased concentrations of metals in Peru Creek and the Snake River are spurring federal environmental experts to once again consider a Superfund designation for the abandoned Pennsylvania mine near Keystone. A toxic brew of heavy metals has long been seeping from the mine's shafts and tunnels, poisoning the water far downstream. Experts say there is no direct human health risk associated with the acid mine drainage. But concentrations of zinc are high enough to kill trout and other aquatic life several miles away at Keystone. "This project could benefit from a Superfund designation," said Elizabeth Russell, Trout Unlimited's project manager for the cleanup...
Summit County water expert Lane Wyatt there could be some downsides. "We need to make sure there is plenty of time for people to understand the process," Wyatt said. More study is needed before deciding whether a superfund cleanup is a good idea, he said. A Superfund designation sometimes carries an unwanted stigma that is perceived to have potentially negative effects on tourism. During previous efforts to cleanup a similar problem in French Gulch near Breckenridge, the focus was on trying to avoid that Superfund stigma. Russel acknowledged that public perception could play a role. She said that, in the case of the Pennsylvania mine, the Superfund listing would be very narrowly limited to the addit, a small opening where water seeps out of the mine. An intense rainstorm last summer apparently changed the way water flows through the mine. The EPA was able to trace the flume of polluted water flooding from the mine last summer. Since then, scientists have been taking monthly water samples. Since the early August "burp," concentrations of zinc have doubled. The surge of tainted water last summer killed hundreds of stocked trout in the Snake River near Keystone. A team of biologists and volunteers scoured the water for fish after the blow-out at the mine, but found only a few trout that survived the deluge of acid mine drainage...
For now, the discussions are very preliminary, and the EPA has no intention of acting on its own. A Superfund designation would come after a local request to the Governor of Colorado, who would pass it along to the federal government. At the earliest, the mine would go the Superfund list in autumn of 2009, MacKenzie said. Before last summer's blow-out at the mine, hopes were high that the Snake River Task Force was making progress on the cleanup. Trout Unlimited dedicated a full-time staff person to coordinate the effort. The cold-water fisheries conservation group had just completed a voluntary and collaborative mine cleanup in Utah and hoped to use that model in Peru Creek. Trout Unlimited was also prepared to bring take on the initial responsibility of building and operating a water treatment facility. "The blow-out in the Snake River made a Good Samaritan project too pricey," said Trout Unlimited's Russell. "We know from work last summer, there are other groundwater problems. There are more complex issues up there." Even before the big rainstorm triggered the surge of pollution last August, the price tag for treatment was soaring up into the $2 million to $2.5 million range, well above what Trout Unlimited and the task force had envisioned. With even higher levels of zinc, the cost is likely to increase again, although there won't be an accurate estimate until the federal experts finish a detailed engineering study...
"It's not the first time we've thought about this," said Summit County open space director Brian Lorch. "In the past, we've said, 'We can list it, but Superfund is underfunded,'" Lorch said. The Snake River Task Force has run though a litany of funding options during the past eight years, he added. The reason the Superfund option is on the table again is that the EPA thinks that it may have some legs this time around, Lorch said. But in the past, so-called eco-sites (where there is no human health risk) haven't done well when it comes to being prioritized for funding, he said.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:29:50 AM
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Lake County officials are now asking the EPA to slow down on the plans to drill into the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel to relieve the buildup of water there, according to The Summit Daily News (free registration required). From the article:
Lake County Commissioners this week suggested the Environmental Protection Agency slow down and study the Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel before it drills into the leaking, toxic tunnel. The commissioners have been holding weekly conference calls since they declared a state of emergency on Feb. 13. Officials later said that while the tunnel does need repair, Leadville's water supply was not in danger, and the emergency threat might have been overplayed. Now, commissioners are slowing down. Commissioner Ken Olsen suggested the EPA was missing an opportunity to perform tests using dye to color the water -- which tells them where the water travels -- that might confirm how much water is migrating to California Gulch.
But EPA remedial project manager Stan Christensen said that they had been performing dye tests since 2000 -- all the way up to 2004 or 2005 -- and they hadn't seen dye migrating in that direction. Generally speaking, EPA officials said they think they're on track to begin drilling within the three-month time frame they have set for themselves. Access issues do not appear to be a problem, they said, and they appear to have enough money. Asked what they will do if the project goes over budget, officials explained that they would try to pull money from other projects. Later, Olsen asked the agencies how much groundwater they intend to pump. Christensen explained that the EPA's remedy includes plugs for the tunnel; with those plugs in place, he said, it isn't necessary to pump the water in the portal all the way down. But Olsen continued to worry about the possibility that water in the tunnel could migrate to California Gulch. Lake County attorney Ann Umphries suggested that the parties needed to come to an agreement about a "safe level" of groundwater in Lake County.
Here's a timeline for this year's Leadville Mine Drainage Tunnel events from The Summit Daily News (free registration required).
More Coyote Gulch coverage here and here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:19:30 AM
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Here's some snowpack news from The Colorado Springs Gazette. From the article:
He reported the city's systemwide reservoir level, which includes Pikes Peak and transmountain sources, stood at 75 percent Monday, compared with a 34-year average of 62 percent. He said transmountain systems' snowpack ranged from 117 percent of normal in the Upper Colorado Headwaters, a chief source for the Springs, to 159 percent in the Arkansas River basin, another source. [Kevin Lusk] said the city-owned utility likely will be in a position to sell excess water. Problem is, the statewide snowpack of 125 percent of normal might mean nobody will be buying. He said the city has injected about 1,000 acre feet of water into the Denver Basin groundwater aquifer. He said the utility would store more or sell it to other groundwaterreliant users if facilities existed to enable it to do so. The outlook for run-off is so optimistic that it's possible the Arkansas River could achieve "free river" status this summer. That's when all water commitments are fulfilled and water is left over for the taking, with permission of the state water engineer...
Vice Mayor Larry Small said this year's expected abundant water supply is a good argument for expanding storage capacity in Pueblo Reservoir, a proposal mired in politics. "I hope some of those who take exception with that philosophy take note of that (lack of storage capacity) this year," he said. Said Lusk, "If we had that space, this water could be stored. We will be storing and filling everything that we possibly can." Pueblo Reservoir is nearly at capacity, Lusk said. John Martin Reservoir west of Lamar, which can hold 355,000 acre feet but now has 66,000 acre feet, could also reach capacity this spring and summer, Lusk said. "Once John Martin fills, you could see a free river," he said. Lusk estimated the last time the Arkansas was in freeriver status was about 1997.
Category: Colorado Water
6:13:30 AM
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State officials will have some dough to fight the zebra mussels at Lake Pueblo, according to The Pueblo Chieftain. From the article:
The Colorado Water Conservation Board unanimously approved a $1 million grant to allow the Colorado State Parks to respond to the threat of zebra mussels at Lake Pueblo through July. The long-term response is expected to be much more costly, and a more permanent source of funding is being studied by state officials. The primary goal of the first round of funding, which was pushed through the Water Supply Reserve Account process of the state Interbasin Compact Committee, is to keep mussels from spreading to other lakes after their discovery in Lake Pueblo in November.
Parks will use the money to buy equipment for inspections and cleaning of boats, one of the major ways the mussels are spread. Zebra mussels can attach themselves to surfaces of nearly anything that comes in contact with water and the larvae - called veligers - can be transported in any part of a boat that is not properly cleaned and dried when it is moved from one lake to another. Part of the money will be used to educate boaters on the dangers of zebra mussels...
A related species, quagga mussels, were found in lakes along the Colorado River last year. The zebra mussels in Lake Pueblo were confirmed by DNA testing in January during the same week as they were found in a California reservoir. Wherever they have been found, zebra mussels have spread prolifically within a couple of years, and have only been completely eliminated in one small lake, said Rob Billerbeck, State Parks manager for biological programs. The fact they were caught early at Lake Pueblo will allow the state to take appropriate measures early on, but they are expected to be found in greater numbers, once water temperatures rise and breeding begins, Billerbeck said. The potential damage to Pueblo water supplies was discussed Tuesday at the Pueblo Board of Water Works meeting. Pueblo, Pueblo West, Colorado Springs, Fountain, Security, Widefield and Stratmoor Hills all take water from the municipal outlet at Pueblo Dam. If the mussels become prevalent, one method of treatment for drinking water would be to apply chemicals already used in the water treatment process to water coming out of the dam, which would require coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation, which operates the dam.
More Coyote Gulch coverage here.
Category: Colorado Water
6:05:41 AM
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Don't drink the water in Alamosa reports ENews 2.0. From the article:
Colorado health officials warned the residents of Alamosa, a southern Colorado town, to stop drinking or cooking with their tap water because it appears to be linked with the recent local Salmonella outbreak. Around 33 people have become ill with the bacteria and dozens more are being investigated. "Municipal water is not a common source of salmonella outbreaks," said Ned Colange, chief medical officer with the Colorado health department, as quoted by Rocky Mountain News. "But it has happened in the past." Health officials have tested the water and have found a bacterium which appears to be Salmonella, but further tests will be carried to confirm the infection. Samples from the city's water system tested positive in 10 percent of 10 tests for bacterial contamination, according to a news release.
It is unknown how Salmonella got into the town's drinking water. Tap water in Alamosa should only be drunk after briefly boiling it, but it appears that is not an option anymore. Salmonella was able to live in the town's water system because it is not chlorinated. The water sources are several wells, which should be safe and bacterium-free. However, now the city will begin chlorinating and flushing the system, a tedious process which can take up to two weeks. City officials said the water should not be consumed while the process is ongoing, probably because a high concentration of chlorine will be used to disinfect pipes. Meanwhile, city and county officials plan to pass resolutions today declaring a state of emergency. Salmonella is a bacterium that causes typhoid fever, paratyphoid fever and even death. Symptoms include fever, diarrhea, nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain.
More coverage from The Denver Post. They write:
Cases began to turn up about a week ago, mainly in people younger than 18, said Alamosa County Public Health spokeswoman Connie Ricci. "Now it's in all ages," she said. In addition to the 33 confirmed salmonella cases, health officials say they are investigating 46 possible cases. Wednesday evening, Ricci was preparing to start a reverse-911 call to all city residents to notify them of the bottled-water advisory. The state health department issued a bottled-water advisory for the town Wednesday after tests showed bacteria were in the city water supply. Most of Alamosa's 8,500 residents use water from the city system, Ricci said.
Dr. Ned Calonge, chief medical officer for the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, said Alamosa uses a deep well that is not chemically disinfected...The salmonella bacteria live in the gut of people and other animals, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Calonge said a similar case of salmonella contamination in a deep- well water supply occurred in Riverside, Calif., in 1965. About 16,000 people were stricken.
Category: Colorado Water
5:54:58 AM
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© Copyright
2008
John Orr.
Last update:
4/1/08; 8:14:26 AM.
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