Water Monitoring Tool
Published on by Water Network Research, Official research team of The Water Network in Technology
Website that Provides Real-time Information About Water Quality Around Oil and Natural Gas Sites in the Denver
Colorado Water Watch, created byColorado State Universityresearchers, is a monitoring tool that collects groundwater quality data from oil and natural gas sites. The information then uploads every hour to the CSU-operated website.
Ken Carlson, an associate CSU professor of civil and environmental engineering and the project lead, said he believes the tool is the first of its kind. He said it's meant to let people make informed decisions about the impacts of hydraulic fracturing and energy resources.
"We don't know of anyone else in the country who is collecting real-time data from groundwater wells in proximity to oil and natural gas operations and sharing it with the public," Carlson said.
The state of Colorado typically makes public provides most water quality data from periodic samples operators and regulators take.
"Our data is designed to complement the information that is already being collected by the state," Carlson said, adding that it's not as detailed as the state data.
"We are really monitoring for changes in quality that could be due to any activity in the watershed, including oil and natural gas operations, agriculture, other industrial activity and even urban runoff," he added.
The Colorado Department of Natural Resources,Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation CommissionandNoble EnergyInc. provided some funds for the project. Their representatives also joined those fromWestern Resource Advocatesand theColorado Oil and Gas Associationon the project's steering committee.
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