HUDSON — State officials are testing more water wells in the Fort Lupton area after hearing from residents who want to know if they’re in danger of the same problem that caused a neighbor’s tap water to catch fire.
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission met Friday in Hudson with about 40 residents worried that their water wells might be tainted with natural gas. Gas was found in a well owned by Amee and Jesse Ellsworth.
The Ellsworths say they’ve had problems with their water since last fall and discovered their water could be set on fire because of gas seeping into the house. There are active natural gas wells within a half-mile radius of their home, about 30 miles northeast of Denver.
The oil and gas commission and the two energy companies that own the wells haven’t determined the source of the gas. Dave Neslin, the commission’s acting director, said the state will test an abandoned gas well 500 yards from the couple’s home to see if that is the cause.
Neslin said 10 residents have contacted his office since the Ellsworths’ problems were publicized last week.
Denver TV stations aired startling video of flames shooting up in the couple’s sink after a lighter ignited the water.
State health officials said so far, no health complications have been reported from residents drinking the water. The commission said anyone with bubbly or “burpy” well water should contact them to have their water tested.
Weld County Commissioner Sean Conway said the county learned of the water problem from media reports.
“Why we were not made aware of this situation is beyond my comprehension,” Conway said.
“Essentially, this is a personal problem with one person’s well. It is not a community issue,” Neslin said.
Other Colorado landowners have had problems with gas seeping into water wells. In the 1980s, gas from old wells that were improperly drilled or sealed migrated into water wells in southwestern Colorado. One family reported that lemonade made with tap water caught fire when it was close to the stove.
The state halted coal bed methane drilling in late 2007 on River Ridge Ranch, a rural subdivision near Walsenburg in southern Colorado, after methane was found venting from water wells and a small fire at a water well sparked by built-up methane.
———
Information from: Greeley Daily Tribune,
