Piceance Basin

Common Data

Repository

and

Water-Resource

Assessment

October 31, 2011

Photo credit: Kirby Wynn

PRESENTATION

Phase I

Data repository / Website / Screen snapshots

Phase II Vision

PROJECT NEED

Large-scale energy development in Piceance Basin

Identify potential impacts of natural and human factors affecting local water resources

Share water-quality data, make available to the public

Water quality monitoring and assessment is necessary to define baseline conditions for future monitoring, planning, conservation & management of water resources

PROJECT PARTICIPANTS U.S. Geological Survey

Colorado DOLA grant, Northern & Southern Piceance

Bureau of Land Management

Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Comm.

Shell Oil Company

Encana Oil & Gas (USA) Inc.

Williams Production

Chevron

Berry Petroleum

Petroleum Development Corp.

Genesis

American Shale Oil LLC

Marathon

West Divide Water Conservancy District

Colorado River Water Conservation District

Garfield County

Delta County

Rio Blanco County

City of Grand Junction

City of Rifle

Town of De Beque

Town of Carbondale

Town of Silt

Town of Rangely

Town of Palisade

Town of Parachute

PROJECT OBJECTIVES

Develop web-accessible common data repository that provides energy operators, researchers, consultants, agencies, and interested stakeholders equal access to the latest information

Evaluate existing water-resources data for uniformity

Perform and publish a baseline assessment of available water-resources data

Develop regional monitoring strategies to more economically fill data gaps by reducing duplication of effort while still meeting regulatory requirements

PHASE I APPROACH

Assemble existing data from public and private sources

Create relational database, standardize data, and make database accessible via internet

Perform baseline assessment of available water resource data

Develop regional monitoring strategies

STUDY AREA

Northern and Southern Piceance Basin

Structural Basin/ Hydrologic / Political Boundaries define study area

Garfield, Delta, Mesa and Rio Blanco Counties

BENEFITS

Public Outreach

Education and Transparency

Management

Improved understanding will lead to better management tools and effective best-management practices

Inform monitoring programs

Economic

Internally consistent database

Reduce data compilation/manipulation time

PRODUCTS

Common Data Repository and Web Interface

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Piceance/index.shtml

Assessment reports of baseline hydrologic conditions

Groundwater Reports

Use of Diverse Geochemical Data Sets to Determine Sources and Sinks of Nitrate and Methane in Groundwater, Garfield County, Colorado, 2009. By P.B. McMahon, J.C. Thomas, and A.G. Hunt

Overview of Groundwater Quality for Select Constituents in the Piceance Study Area, 1946-2009, western Colorado. By J.C. Thomas and P.B. McMahon

PRODUCTS

Assessment reports of baseline hydrologic conditions

Surface water reports

Characterization and Data-Gap Analysis of Surface-Water-Quality in the Piceance Basin, Western Colorado, from 1959-2009

Recommendations for regional monitoring for groundwater and surface water

PHASE II APPROACH

Continue to provide a publically accessible, useful and current water resource tool for the community

Phase II designed to be sustainable and cost-effective

Colorado River District fiscal agent

Employ Colorado Data Sharing Network (CDSN)

QUESTIONS

Database and Web Interface

completed August 2009

Accessible through the Project web site:

http://rmgsc.cr.usgs.gov/cwqdr/Piceance/index.shtml