Cause of 'fire water' still unknown

HUDSON - The state agency that regulates oil and gas says although there is some evidence methane may have contaminated a private well in rural Weld County, they're not sure why the family's tap water ignites when a lighter is put to it.

Representatives from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, the Hudson Fire Department, Noble Energy and Anadarko Petroleum Commission answered the public's questions at an informational meeting Friday night in Hudson.

A representative from the Oil and Gas Commission says it has not confirmed methane is causing Jess and Amee Ellsworth's problem.

If it is methane, the Health Department's Ron Falco says it doesn't pose a significant health risk.

"More specifically, with respect to breathing air in a home that has methane in the water well, in the quantities that we've seen from, what we've seen from the oil and gas commission, the data at this point does not a conclusion that the concentration of methane in the air [means] a significant health risk," Falco said.

The representative from the Oil and Gas Commission says Noble Energy and the Anadarko Petroleum Corporation is supplying the Ellsworth family with water and has agreed to install a treatment system to remove methane from their water.

The representative also says they are testing for the presence of methane in other wells.

Travis McClure says he decided to come to the meeting after putting a flame to his water, and finding the same result as the Ellsworths.

"I don't know if all the questions got answered but I think he gives us more information to know where to go from here," McClure told 9NEWS.

Another hot topic at Friday's meeting was last Wednesday's discovery of a previously unknown well.

When asked about what the Oil and Gas Commission plans to do about it, the representative said, "We're going to have to go back in and re-evaluate that well to see what's actually down there. We don't know. There's no information about it other than depth.

Anyone who wants to get their water tested should contact the Oil and Gas Commission.