Laserfiche WebLink
<br />o <br />l\J . <br />04 <br />CD <br /> <br />CHAPTER V <br /> <br />VERIFICATION PROGRAM <br /> <br />, <br /> <br />directional drilling techniques, the intercepting well penetrated either <br />a high yield aquifer or the Marland bore at a depth .of from 1,340 to <br />1,350 feet, and a 400-gpm flow of 18,OOO-mg/L water was immediately <br />encountered. <br /> <br />About 4,500 cubic feet of cement were later pumped into the forma- <br />tions between I,OOO and 1,350 feet, with most of that going out between <br />1,340 and 1,350 feet. No response was observed in water levels in <br />either the upper Morrison Formation observation wells or the original <br />Msrland Well during pumping; but immediately after the cement pumps were <br />stopped, water levels in the observation wells began dropping sharply. <br />Additional cement was pumped into the upper I,OOO feet of the annulus to <br />ensure that a new avenue of leakage would not be created (June 1981). <br /> <br />Hydrogeologic data on the upper 1,350 feet of Meeker Dome obtained <br />during the drilling of the intercept well reinforced the hypothesis that <br />the Marland Well was the source of the saline springs in the area. <br /> <br />James Well <br /> <br />Historical accounts of the James Well indicated that it had been <br />filled with cement up to 110 feet below ground level by the Colorado Oil <br />and Gas Commission. In 1981, pipe was installed to an obstruction at <br />about 140 feet. An attempt was then made to fill the upper portion of <br />the well with cement. <br /> <br />Before the initial cementing operation could be completed, however, <br />the James Well began to flow saline water at 80 gpm, and when a second <br />cementing effort was washed out, the well was allowed to flow until <br />final plugging at the Marland Well was completed. <br /> <br />Upon reentry of the James Well, the obstruction at 140 feet proved <br />to be a ledge in the bore and not the top of a cement plug as had been <br />thought earlier. The well was found to be completely open to 335 feet <br />and probably even deeper. Old pipe in the well prevented penetration <br />below 335 feet, although most of the water rising in the well was enter- <br />ing below this point. Later, the open bore was successfully plugged <br />from about 335 feet to the surface (June 1981). <br /> <br />18 <br />