Northern Colorado is growing, and who doesn’t want to live in this beautiful state? With growth comes increased potable water demand, and the Town of Firestone elected to supplement their water system by capturing alluvial water and treating it with reverse osmosis. Many Northern Colorado towns have similar water system growth needs.
The Challenge
Reverse osmosis creates high salinity wastewater that must be disposed of via deep underground injection. The Town of Firestone’s selected reverse osmosis contractor did not have underground injection experience.
The Approach
With four previous Front Range municipal reverse osmosis wastewater injection wells constructed, the Town of Firestone logically partnered with IPT Well Solutions. After completing a thorough reservoir evaluation, IPT proposed permitting a deep Paleozoic stratum well, 9,500 to 11,000 feet deep, that afforded approximately 500,000 disposal gallons per day and supported a five million gallon per day reverse osmosis system.
IPT’s scope included a reservoir analysis, the EPA Class I disposal permit, the well design, drilling and completing the well, and designing, installing, and commissioning the injection pump system.
The Solution
Located within the St. Vrain River Floodway, IPT and the civil engineering partners created a site design and injection well design that kept all critical equipment above the floodway.
Additionally, EPA permits require rigorous geologic analysis ensuring the injected waste remains confined within the targeted injection zone, thereby protecting all underground drinking water sources. The permit applicant must also demonstrate how the injected plume will move with time and propose a plume movement monitoring plan throughout the well’s projected life.
IPT’s design team used the highly micro fractured injection zone and an un-cemented slotted liner that maximized wastewater injectivity, thereby minimizing early life injection pressure and adding years to the well’s life.
Finally, IPT specified and supervised the horizontal centrifugal pump system design, complete with centrifugal charge pumps, filtration, and tank capacity that handles a full day’s wastewater production. The completely automated system constantly monitors tank levels and injection pressures such that the system never spills wastewater or exceeds the designed injection pressure. As the town’s needs grow, the system’s design can also accommodate a third horizontal injection pump.
The Results
IPT Well Solutions accepted the challenge, provided an application that exceeded the EPA’s requirements, and generated an EPA drilling permit. Post drilling, IPT continued working with the EPA and obtained final injection approval. While IPT and the EPA worked through final approvals, IPT developed, and the EPA approved, a spectral log analysis that gathered high resolution in-situ water salinities from all drilled formations.
This IPT project was expected to be operational in the Fall of 2022.
Project Highlights
- 500,000 gallons per day of disposal water
- 2-mile injection below surface
- 0 disposal water into lakes, rivers, and streams
A Class I injection well is designed for the disposal of hazardous or industrial fluids deep underground. It ensures fluids are injected into isolated formations far below drinking water sources, making it a critical solution for wastewater from processes like reverse osmosis and certain hydraulic fracturing consulting applications.
Reservoir evaluation determines the formation’s ability to accept and contain injected fluids. Proper analysis improves injectivity, reduces pressure buildup, and ensures long-term containment, which is essential for both well performance analysis and regulatory approval.
Higher injectivity allows fluids to be injected at lower pressures, reducing stress on the formation and extending well life. Design choices like slotted liners and targeting fractured zones directly impact injectivity and operational efficiency.
Advanced oilfield data analytics helps model plume movement, assess formation properties, and optimize well placement and design. This reduces uncertainty and improves both regulatory success and operational performance.
Injection wells are designed with multiple layers of protection, including geologic barriers and monitoring systems. Permitting requires proof that injected fluids will remain confined within the target zone and not migrate into potable water sources.
Yes. The same principles used here apply to oilfield disposal wells, carbon capture storage, and other subsurface injection projects. Expertise in due diligence and subsurface engineering ensures safe and efficient operations across industries.
The approach used in this project extends beyond municipal wastewater disposal. The same combination of subsurface analysis, engineering design, and operational oversight is critical in projects requiring completion consulting, hydraulic fracturing consulting, and advanced oilfield data analytics.
Whether evaluating reservoir behavior, optimizing injection performance, or supporting regulatory approvals through due diligence, these capabilities help operators make informed decisions and avoid costly mistakes. In more complex scenarios such as disputes or regulatory challenges, the same technical foundation also supports expert witness services by providing defensible, data-driven insights.