August 28, 2014 – Local domestic water well owners are invited to participate in a water quality monitoring study that will provide well owners with free, skilled analysis of their water quality.
The survey is part of the Western Slope Conservation Center’s water quality monitoring study that was initiated in 2011. The first phase of the study focused on a water quality analysis of five surface water sites and three springs within the North Fork Valley, and the continuation of the study partners with the University of Colorado Boulder Colorado Water and Energy Research Center (CWERC), to study North Fork Valley baseline water quality conditions that could be affected by current and proposed extraction of oil and natural gas. The scope of the study is expanding to include the Muddy Creek drainage, upstream of Paonia Reservoir, with a particular interest in sampling domestic water wells.
Under state regulation, oil and gas operators must collect one baseline water quality sample from up to four water well sites within a half-mile radius of a new oil or gas well, but ultimately well users are responsible for monitoring their own water quality. Participation in the study will provide well owners with baseline data collected in the fall and spring, to reflect important seasonal fluctuations in water chemistry that single samplings may miss.
This is a limited opportunity, and 10 domestic well sites will be selected for the study. To volunteer to participate, contact Katya Hafich, outreach hydrologist at the Colorado Water and Energy Research Center at [email protected] or 303-492-4561, by Wednesday, Sept. 10.
If selected, CU-Boulder CWERC-trained hydrology students will assist with sample collection over the weekend of Sept. 20-21, and the Western Slope Conservation Center will provide community volunteer support and funding for state-certified lab analyses of the water samples.
Volunteer well owners will need to be available for up to two hours on Sept. 20 or 21 and again for additional sampling in late May or June 2015. Within two months post sampling, water quality data will be provided to landowners at no cost (typical analyses cost approximately $450).
A final report for the study will be available summer 2015. Personal information, including name and address, will be strictly confidential.
In addition, CU-Boulder CWERC provides a groundwater-monitoring guide for water-well users in areas of oil and natural gas development. For more information, visit the CWERC website or download the guide at http://cwerc.colorado.edu.
For more information about the North Fork Valley water quality monitoring study, contact the Western Slope Conservation Center at 970-527-5307.Category:
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