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The Pueblo Chieftain Online - Monday September 25, 2000 wysiwyg: //37 /http: / /www. chieftain. com /monday /news /index.htm ?article =l 1 <br />Make Chieftain.com your Home Page <br />Search: 1 0 <br />Navigation <br />Weather <br />Current Conditions <br />Unavailable <br />Extended Forecast <br />DEPARTMENTS: <br />News <br />Sports <br />Business <br />Lifestyle <br />Editorial <br />Classifieds <br />Daily Crossword <br />Comics <br />TV Listings <br />Weather <br />Search <br />Monday September 25, 2000 <br />Home - Personalize - Help <br />Quick Nav ., 0 <br />Critics: Gas wells are raising, <br />wasting underground water <br />By MIKE GARRETT <br />The Pueblo Chieftain <br />TRINIDAD - Frustrations are beginning to erupt among <br />rural Las Animas County residents over threats to their <br />future water supply from gas wells. <br />In short, they don't want to trade their water for the <br />economic benefits of the extracted gas. <br />In extracting coalbed methane gas from 600 feet deep <br />within the earth, the drillers are also pumping up <br />millions of gallons of water from the underground water <br />aquifers, tables and coal beds. Most of it is wasted <br />after it surfaces with the pumped natural gas. <br />ABOUT PUEBLO: <br />Gas companies have indicated they plan to be drilling <br />RECENT ISSUES: <br />wells here over the next 15 -30 years through much of <br />Monday <br />the western part of the county and Purgatoire River <br />Tuesday <br />valley. <br />Wednesday <br />of the South Central Council of Governments. Along <br />Thursday <br />The county's natural gas drilling and distribution <br />Friday <br />system has long since taken over from the coal <br />Saturday <br />industry as its largest revenue producer. But area <br />Sunday <br />landowners such as Tina Mosconi say you can't put a <br />OTHER <br />price tag on the loss of their future water supply. <br />SOURCES: <br />SO <br />AP: The e Wire <br />Recognizing citizens' growing concerns over water <br />T <br />supplies, Evergreen Resources, the prime player in the <br />The Gazette <br />county's methane gas exploration business, organized <br />Rocky Mountain <br />a meeting last week at Trinidad's Holiday Inn to hear <br />News <br />those complaints and discuss alternative action plans. <br />Denver Post <br />All participants acknowledged the issue is a very <br />CNNia <br />serious problem for the future of the county. <br />ABOUT PUEBLO: <br />About half of the estimated 75 landowners took turns <br />Business Directory <br />for nearly two hours, voicing their concerns, offering <br />City Guide <br />suggestions and asking often technical questions of <br />Chamber of <br />Dennis Carlton of Evergreen and Mike Bailey, director <br />Commerce <br />of the South Central Council of Governments. Along <br />Riverwalk <br />with Bob Brooks of the Department of Local Affairs, <br />Pueblo Convention <br />Bailey and Carlton are acting as facilitators in the <br />Center <br />discussion. <br />\ /ir +i in[ Tni ire <br />Feature Businesses <br />BeIrna <br />IF <br />r1►or <br />,,."'°are- <br />1 of 3 9126/00 2:20 PM <br />