| Contacts: | Cass Cairns, 719-269-8553 |
Drillers Encounter Water at Unexpected High Pressure (08-02-10)
Cañon City, Colo. – Hydro Resources Colorado alerted the Royal Gorge Field Office yesterday that during normal drilling operations for the new Park Center Well they had encountered water at an unexpected pressure forcing roughly 1,600-2,000 gallons of water per minute from the well’s drill hole. The well is a BLM-leased water resource located five miles north of Cañon City.
Non-toxic drill mud and road base from the drill pad flowed into the Fourmile Creek, causing some discoloration and silt in the stream. The additional water flowing into Fourmile Creek brings the water level to what is similar during a high runoff period. Local officials and Colorado Water Resources have been notified.
Hydro Resources ran into technical difficulties in their attempt to mitigate the water flow from the drill hole this afternoon and have a plan that aims to cap water flows by late this evening so additional well development can be completed.
In April, the BLM Royal Gorge Field Office awarded a $1,176,000 contract under ARRA to Hydro Resources Colorado, LLC. to drill a new well to replace the deteriorating 80-year old Park Center Well near Cañon City, Colorado. This well has provided municipal water for more than 40 years to Park Center Water District users.
The BLM manages more than 245 million acres of public land, the most of any Federal agency. This land, known as the National System of Public Lands, is primarily located in 12 Western states, including Alaska. The BLM also administers 700 million acres of sub-surface mineral estate throughout the nation. In Fiscal Year (FY) 2011, recreational and other activities on BLM-managed land contributed more than $130 billion to the U.S. economy and supported more than 600,000 American jobs. The Bureau is also one of a handful of agencies that collects more revenue than it spends. In FY 2012, nearly $5.7 billion will be generated on lands managed by the BLM, which operates on a $1.1 billion budget. The BLM's multiple-use mission is to sustain the health and productivity of the public lands for the use and enjoyment of present and future generations. The Bureau accomplishes this by managing such activities as outdoor recreation, livestock grazing, mineral development, and energy production, and by conserving natural, historical, cultural, and other resources on public lands.
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