A four-year study of water quality at Union Reservoir has found no presence of chemical compounds used in hydraulic fracturing from nearby oil and gas wells. The analysis of Union Reservoir water has been conducted by Michael Thurman and Imma Ferrer of the University of Colorado’s Center of Environmental Mass Spectrometry through an agreement with the city of Longmont.
The city council this week unanimously voted to extend that agreement through Dec. 31, 2025. The study may go even longer to ensure that chemicals from years of oil and gas drilling will not make it to the reservoir, Jane Turner, Longmont’s air quality/oil and gas coordinator, said via email.
“Over the last several years, a number of oil and gas wells were drilled outside the city in the vicinity of Union Reservoir,” Turner said. “This monitoring has been in place during these activities to ensure the water is not being impacted by the work.”
“Staff is proposing to continue the monitoring because some contaminants could take several years to reach the reservoir if they were released in the surrounding area,” she added.
The full “dataset” will be reviewed before determining whether the monitoring will be extended beyond 2025, Turner said.
The city is conducting monthly monitoring of groundwater at five sites north of Union Reservoir for oil and gas byproducts, Turner said. “We hope that the comprehensive environmental monitoring that the city sponsors will continue to motivate local operators to take the utmost care in protecting Union Reservoir and Longmont’s ecosystems,” she said.
Under the agreement, Longmont pays $750 per water sample and $1,000 per soil sample submitted for analysis of hydraulic fracking fluids. There is a limit of 40 samples per year for a total not to exceed $90,000 over three years covered by the agreement, according to a city staff report.
Funding for the testing comes from the city’s oil and gas royalty revenue, the staff report states.
The city also regularly tests for algae and e-coli at Union Reservoir, Annie Noble,the city’s environmental services manager, told the council this week.
