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Resources on this website are designed to help water well owners in areas of oil and gas development establish a reliable baseline of their water quality and quantity. Access these resources using the menu to the left or the guide’s table of contacts (once you’ve downloaded it) to link directly to specific sections of the guide. Contact CWERC to answer your questions and to help with interpreting your lab results.
Colorado’s water and energy resources are tightly linked. The Colorado Water and Energy Research Center (CWERC) studies the connections between water and energy resources and the trade-offs that may be involved in their use. CWERC seeks to engage the general public and policymakers, serving as a neutral broker of scientifically-based information on even the most contentious “energy-water nexus” debates.
Since CWERC’s launch at the University of Colorado Boulder in 2011, public interest and pressing scientific questions have steered the center’s work specifically toward oil and gas extraction, groundwater resources, and the importance of baseline water quality and quantity data.
CWERC's Mission:
Read about the purpose of this guide and how it was developed.
State of Colorado
Water Quality Control Commission Regulations
Colorado Basic Standards for Groundwater - Regulation 41
Colorado Certified Safe Drinking Water Laboratories
Colorado Public Health Agencies by County
Colorado Oil & Gas Conservation Commission interactive map
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Geological Survey