Wellington Water Works wins in state water court

By Cherry Sokoloski
North Forty News

It's big news for Wellington, the arid West and Wellington farmer Richard Seaworth. After nearly eight years of legal battles and a substantial investment, he and partner Brad Pomeroy of Wellington Water Works got the answers they wanted from the Colorado Water Court in Greeley.

On March 10, the court granted WWW two new water decrees, opening the floodgates for the use of produced water--water that is produced along with oil-- in Colorado. This was the first case involving beneficial use of produced water from an oil and gas field in the state, according to WWW's attorney, Steve Bushong.

"We're pretty excited about it," Seaworth said of the water court decision. "I think it's a good thing, and I hope we can keep the water in the area. It will be good for the area and the town of Wellington."

The Wellington Operating Co. has been purifying produced water for about two years at its plant north of Wellington. WWW plans to use the oil-field water for irrigation, and transfer water rights now used for irrigation to domestic use. The new water decrees provide a green light for both endeavors.

The oil-field water will be the first new water source in northeastern Colorado for more than 20 years. The Colorado-Big Thompson project, completed in the mid-1950s, and the Windy Gap project, completed in 1985, both brought west-slope water to the Front Range.

The Wellington project has attracted attention from high places. Both Rep. Mark Udall and Sen. Ken Salazar have visited the purification plant in the past year.

The water court asked WWW to make some wording changes in one decree. Those have been submitted, Bushong said. The one remaining opposer has an opportunity to respond, but Seaworth expects the official decrees to be issued within a month. Then, WWW can proceed with plans for selling the new water.

Interest is high

Seaworth said that as soon as the court ruling was announced, people started calling him. "There have been several others watching the case who may want the water - people we've never even heard of," he said.

His hometown of Wellington is still interested in the water, too. Town Administrator Larry Lorentzen said the town will restart negotiations with Seaworth soon, in the hope of purchasing some of the WWW water.

"The town has been very interested in this water source for a number of years," he said.

"For me, Wellington is my number one pick," Seaworth said, "but I have to listen to my partners, too."

Last year, Seaworth and his wife, Sandra, tried to annex a parcel of land to Wellington. As part of the plan, the Seaworths would have formed a water district that could supply water to Wellington. However, the Seaworths pulled their request after neighbors complained about using a flagpole annexation.

Some town board members also expressed a desire to wait on water negotiations until the water court made a decision.

Lorentzen said there are several possible routes by which WWW could sell domestic water. Those include forming a metro district within Larimer County, annexing to Wellington and creating a water district, or forming a private water company.

Seaworth said he still wants to do some sort of development on his farm property, which would use some of the new water. "How we're going to make that happen I don't know," he said.

Trespass case decided

When WWW filed its requests for new water rights, several parties filed opposition statements with the water court. In the end, all dropped out except Daniel Dumont, represented by his conservator, First National Bank.

Dumont and the bank were also involved in a district court trespass case against Wellington Water Works, alleging that the water purification plant was illegally built on Dumont's property. A decision in that case came down on March 12, just two days after the water court ruling.

The district court also ruled in WWW's favor. The trespass suit "created a problem for us, and a ton of expenses," Seaworth said, noting that Wellington Operating Co., rather than WWW, built and operates the purification plant. WOC holds a legal lease for the plant location, he added.

Originally, WWW was formed to solve two problems. Seaworth wanted water for a development, and Pomeroy, who operates the Wellington Oil Field, wanted to get rid of some of the wastewater associated with oil production. With older fields such as the one north of Wellington, about 98 percent of the pumped fluid is water. Until the water purification plant was built, the wastewater had to be pumped back into the earth.

Now, with less wastewater to contend with, the Wellington Oil Field has begun bringing some inactive oil wells back on line.

"At this point in time in the world, we need more sources of water," Seaworth said. "We're now able to put a waste product to beneficial use, and I think that's something that needs to start happening."