The Paradox Valley salt injection well can be closed

The Dolores and Colorado Rivers could face low water quality according to a recent decision by the Reclamation Office that may cause the Paradox Valley Salinity Control Project to close.

The office decided the option of taking no action after conducting an environmental analysis to find solutions to inject a saline solution that approached its capacity and caused earthquakes.

Engineers installed the project in 1996 on the Lower Dolores River in southwestern Colorado to remove natural salt deposits and improve water quality in the nearby Colorado River for millions of people and downstream farms.

But the unintended result of pumping brine deep into the Earth were thousands of human induced earthquakes. The largest earthquake of magnitude 4.5 was on March 4, 2019 and was felt by residents of Moab, Dove Creek, Cortez and Touak.

After the record-breaking earthquake in that region, the office reclamation well and brine injection facility was temporarily closed to allow further study. It restarted with a lower injection rate, but earthquakes still occur, including a 3.7-magnitude earthquake on December 8th.

The well pressure is up to the permit limit standards, indicating the total capacity of the Leadville brine storage site has been reached, said Leslie McWhirter, reclamation office environmental planner after a record earthquake in March 2019.

In December 2019, the Reclamation Office released a draft Environmental Impact Statement outlining potential alternatives to the project.

The impact statement suggests several alternatives, including no action, a new nearby injection well, a surface evaporation system, and a brine crystallization system without liquid. The alternatives have a goal to last 50 years. Each of the proposed new systems has been priced at $ 99 million and above.

On December 11, the Reclamation Office released the Final Impact Statement for the Unity of the Valley of Irony.

The benefits and impacts of the salinity control alternatives were analyzed, and a “no-action alternative” was chosen as the best way to avoid environmental damage while maintaining compliance with the salinity control alternatives to control salinity, according to a press release.

“After considering public comments, Reclamation has determined that the alternative to no-action achieves the best balance between the various goals and objectives described in the environmental impact statement,” said Ed Warner, director of the Reclamation Office in Western Colorado. “The alternative to not taking action is in the interest of public health and safety.”

The Paradox Valley Unit is a component of the wider Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program for reclamation, which is a partnership between reclamation, several federal agencies and seven basin states. This partnership developed measures that prevent an estimated 1.22 million tons of salt from entering the Colorado River system each year and contribute to long-term water quality goals.

As per the impact decision, the Paradox salt injection well will continue operating until it is no longer possible.

The report states that “once the current well becomes inoperable, there will be no control of salinity in the Valley of Paradox unless a possible future alternative is identified.” Any feasible alternative in the future will be subject to analysis under the National Environmental Procedures Act.

According to the final impact statement, after the injection well has been stopped for two years, the well will be blocked and left in accordance with the EPA injection monitoring permit, and the area reclamation.

Existing pipelines and brine production wells may be covered or blocked and left. Buildings will be valued for potential future use. The reclamation will retain its land associated with the Unit of the Irony Valley until a future date when the land is re-evaluated for other uses. The agency will also reserve its right to water.

Seismic events will continue to be monitored across the Paradox Valley seismic network until reclamation determines that it is no longer necessary, according to the report.

HOW IT WORKS At a reclamation office near Bedrock, a series of nine wells attract the salty groundwater prevailing in the Paradox Valley, known for the salt deposits left over from a shallow ancient sea.

It’s piped to a nearby injection well, which sends salt water 2.9 miles underground to the Mississippi Leadville Formation.

The Dolores River is a tributary of the Colorado River. By de-loading the natural salt into the Dolores River, Colorado’s water quality has improved for an estimated 40 million people downstream, including municipalities and 5.5 million acres of farms, industry, and communities in Mexico.

The facility was intercepting and injecting about 95,000 tons per year of saline into the injection well. The proposed alternatives seek similar amounts to be canceled, to be funded by the federal government.

The injected saline fluid has been known to cause earthquakes by adding lubrication and pressure to fault lines. An estimated 6,000 mostly smaller earthquakes are thought to have been caused by a paradoxical injection well since the 1990s, according to government reports and seismologists.

The final environmental impact report and decision are available online.

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