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Feasibility of Drilling a New Well at the Existing Park Center Well Location, Fremont County, Colorado 11/25/08 Paul Summers RECEIVE® Senior Hydrogeologist ~ E ~ ~ ] 2~t18 Roy Smith Water Rights Specialist Ccioradq Mater Conservation Board Bureau of Land Management During summer 2008, the Park Center District discovered serious water leakage from the upper casing at the existing Park Center water well. The District asked BLM to assess whether the problem can be remedied or if a new well should be drilled, because the well is a converted oil and gas well located on public lands. In its engineering and hydrogeologic assessment, BLM considered of the age of the well (80 yrs), and the high level of risk associated with repairs to a deteriorating steel casing. BLM has determined that plugging the existing well and drilling of a replacement well is the only course of action that can assure a continued water supply. If funding is obtained by the Park Center District for drilling a new well, BLM would issue aright-of--way grant to Park Center for construction of the new well within 200 feet of the existing well, subject to standard review and analysis procedures required by federal law. A detailed well log and hydrogeologic report is available for the existing Park Center well that provides information on geological formations and ground water conditions at depth at this location. (See attached hydrogeologic report.) Drilling a replacement well using this information will provide a driller with sufficient detail on which to devise a drilling program, including selection of equipment suitable for this project. The well can be drilled using conventional water well drilling techniques, such as air rotary with a tri-cone bit, mud rotary, or with anair-percussion hammer bit. Because we have detailed lithologic information on the geological formations at depth, drilling a new well can be accomplished without the unknowns that usually accompany a drilling program. Drilling will be to a depth of about 2900 feet, into the lower part of the Fountain Formation, which will allow for penetration of the fracture zone that currently provides water to the Park Center Well. The Fountain Formation consists, of a thick, massive, highly cross-bedded, coarse red arkose and boulder conglomerate in the lower third of the unit. The upper two thirds of the unit are comprised primarily of a red sandy shale, with medium- to coarse grained arkoses and a few thin, nodular, fresh water limestone beds. Production Zone A water producing zone found at a depth of about 500 ft. in the original well will be cemented off and not used. Only the deep aquifer in the Fountain Formation from about 2650 to about 2800 feet below ground surface will be used for production. This zone is a confined aquifer, and a well drilled into this zone produces a flowing artesian well, with about 200 psi pressure at the surface. Drilling to this depth is unusual for a water well; however, because the well is a high capacity flowing well, pumping lift is not required. The ,`