From The Sopris Sun (Jeremy Heiman):
Carbondale officials were interested in supporting the study, initiated by the Thompson Divide Coalition (TDC), in part because contamination from gas drilling in those areas has the potential to enter ground water and pollute town water wells. Carbondale’s Crystal River wells, which are relatively shallow, could be threatened by such contamination, said Mark O’Meara, Carbondale’s utilities director. O’Meara said the risk presented by chemicals from gas drilling in the Thompson Divide area is difficult to calculate. “If it gets into the groundwater, I don’t think there’s any model to predict where it’s going to go,” he said.
He compared underground geology to a sandwich, with multiple layers, sloping toward the Crystal and Roaring Fork valleys. Contamination released by drilling activities could enter groundwater between any of those layers and follow the slope to the valley bottom. The Crystal wells are a secondary source of water for the town, but are nevertheless used on a regular basis for domestic drinking water for residents, as are another series of wells in the Roaring Fork drainage. Carbondale’s primary source of water is Nettle Creek, south of town.
TDC has budgeted almost $79,000 for the study, which is intended to establish baseline data on the purity of streams and underground water in the Thompson Divide area, where gas drilling companies hold leases. The largest share of the cost has been paid for by grants from Pitkin County Open Space and Trails, the Aspen Skiing Company Environment Foundation and Patagonia, and grants expected from two other sources. Carbondale’s trustees offered to pay half the remaining budget shortfall of $13,970. The study has been under way since last fall, and will involve sampling at several sites during each season through this summer.