The Water Information Program

Maybe the state needs to find out how much more pumping the Denver Basin aquifers can stand, but the Arkansas Basin Roundtable was unwilling to foot the bill alone. A group called Protect Our Wells asked the roundtable Wednesday to approve its application to the state for $220,000 in funds to study the sustainability of the Denver Basin aquifers, four huge non-tributary well formations that underlie the fast growing areas of the state. The roundtable overwhelmingly rejected the request. While there are numerous cities and groundwater districts that pump from the Denver Basin, Protect Our Wells represents private well owners who are concerned about the future ability of water, said Sandy Martin, president of the group. While the Denver Basin is estimated to contain more than 200 million acre-feet of water, it is becoming more costly to extract the water. New wells are affecting the performance of existing wells and the water is distributed unevenly over the 6,700-square-mile area that touches eight counties. Water taken from the aquifers is not renewable and the increased costs come from the need to drill deeper wells. The proposed study would have benefits to private well owners, districts and agriculture, Martin said.

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