f l i E DE NVE R ARE A E ARTHQUAKE S AND

r
i l E ROCKY MOUNTAIN ARSE NAL DISPOSAL WE LL
i V l D M. EVANS: Consul ti ng Geologist, Denver. Colorado
ual ' RACT: Duri ng 1961, a deep wel l was dri l l ed at the Rocky Mountai n Arsenal northeast of
V nv er , Col orado, to di spose of contami nated waste water . The wel l i s bottomed i n 75 f eet of
,,l y f r actur ed Precambri an gnei ss. Pr essur e i njecti on of waste water i nto the f r actur ed Pre-
. i br i an rock was begun i n March 1962. Si nce the start of f l ui d i njecti on, 710 Denver -ar ea earth-
i kes have been r ecor ded. The majori ty of these earthquakes had epi center s wi thi n a f i ve-mi l e
.' ui i us of the Arsenal wel l . The vol ume of f l ui d and pr essur e of f l ui d i njecti on appear to be di r ectl y
-.- ated to the f r equency of earthquakes. E vi dence al so suggests that rock movement i s due to the
-cr ease of f l ui d pressure wi thi n the f ractured reservoi r and that open f ractures may exi st at depths
than previ ousl y consi der ed possi bl e.
-, raoDUCTi ON
Pr oducts f or chemi cal war f ar e have been
...i nuf actured on a l arge scal e under the di rec-
jn of the Chemi cal Corps of the U. S. Ar my
.; -.he Rocky Mountai n Arsenal si nce 1942. A
;
. -pr oduct of thi s operati on i s contami nated
i i = te water and, unti l 1961, thi s' waste water
. 15 di sposed of by evaporati on f r om di r t
r eser voi r s (Scopel , 1964).
When i t was determi ned that Arsenal
j..i dte water was contami nati ng the l ocal ground-
ater suppl y and endanger i ng crops (Gahr,
, :ol ; Wal ker , 1961), the Chemi cal Corps tri ed
- .aporati on of the contami nated waste f r om
l i ter -ti ght r eser voi r s. Thi s pr oved unsuccess-
:.::. The Chemi cal Cor ps and the Corps of
E ngi neers then deci ded to dri l l an i njecti on di s-
josal wel ! f or the pur pose of di sposi ng of the
jontami nated waste water (Scopel , 1964).
The U. S. Ar my Corps of E ngi neers,
Jmaha. Di stri ct, commi ssi oned the f i r m of
.. A. Pol umbus, Jr ., and Associ ates, I nc.,
~ ) desi gn the wel l , super vi se the dri l l i ng and
^Jmpl eti on, provi de the necessary engi neeri ng
.eol ogi cal ser vi ces, and manage the pr oject.
-oui s J. Scopel , as an associ ate, was the
Pr oject Geol ogi st and was r esponsi bl e f or al l
.?ol ogi cal aspects of the operati on. Another
.col ogi cal associ ate was George R. Downs,
Fi gure 1. Structural map of a porti on of the
Denver - Jul esbur g Basi n (af ter Ander man and
Ackman, 1963), showi ng the l ocati on of the
Rocky Mountai n Arsenal wel l .
- Mountai n Geol ogi st, v. 3, no. 1, p. 23-36
23
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Fi gure 2. Cr oss-secti on showi ng the subsur f ace geol ogy f r om the Arsenal wel l to the outcrop of
Precambri an grani te gnei ss west of Denver (af ter M. F. and C. M. Boos, and H. H. Odi or ne).
The l i ne of cross-secti on i s shown i n f i gur e 1.
who contri buted materi al l y to the i nti al desi gn
of the pr oject and acted i n an advi sor y capaci ty
thr oughout the the operati on.
The wel l was l ocated and dri l l ed i n the
N W/4 NE /4 sec. 26, T. 2 S., R. 67 W. (39-
51.5' N. , 104-51' W. ) , Adams County, Col o-
rado. It was spudded 10 March 1961 and com-
pl eted at a total depth of 12, 045 f eet 11 Septem-
ber 1961.
RE GIONAL GE OLOGY
The Rocky Mountai n Arsenal Di sposal wel l
i s l ocated on the gentl y di ppi ng east f l ank of
the Denver -Jul esbur g Basi n, just a f ew mi l es
west of the axi s of the basi n. As i ndi cated i n
f i gur e 1, the Arsenal wel l i s l ocated i n a regi on
of the subcr op of Cambro-Ordovi ci an rocks,
near the area wher e these rocks are truncated
by Pennsyl vani an sedi ments.
Fi gure 1 i s a structural map of a porti on
of the Denver -Jul esbur g Basi n i n the vi ci ni ty
of the Rocky Mountai n Arsenal wel l af ter
Ander man and Ackman (1963). Fi gure 2 i s a
cr oss secti on af ter M. F. and C. M. Boos and
H. H. Odi orne whi ch shows the subsurf ace
geol ogy f r om the Arsenal wel l to the outcrop of
Pr ecambr i an grani te gnei ss west of Denver.
The grani te gnei ss i s i denti f i ed as the
Mount Mor r i son For mati on by C. M. and
M. F. Boos (1957), who descr i be typi cal
Mount Mor r i son grani te as medi um to f i ne
grai ned, pi nk to tan, and del i catel y gnei ssi c.
Parts of the grani ti c gnei ss are per meated
wi th i l l -def i ned pegmati te.
Appr oxi matel y 13,000 f eet of structural
r el i ef exi sts between the top of the Precam-
br i an i n the Arsenal wel l and the Precambri an
outcr op west of Denver .
STRATIGRAPHIC SE CTION IN INJE CTION
DISPOSAL WE LL
A di agr am and l og of the wel l are shown i n
f i gur e 3 (Scopel , 1964). Fi gur e 4 i s a l og of
the pr e-Pennsyl vani an porti on of the wel l by
Scopel (1964). Scopel (1964) descr i bed the
Pr ecambr i an secti on cut by the wel l as f ol l ows:
Pr ecambr i an
The above-descr i bed sedi ments [Ordo-
vi ci an or Cambri an] overl i e 20 f eet of
br i ght gr een weather ed schi st whi ch con-
24
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Fi gure 3. Di agram and l og of the Rocky Mountai n Arsenal Injecti on Di sposal Wel l (Scopel , 1964).
25
FOUNTAIN
REGOLITH
MAROON- RED BROWN SHALE
MAROON QUARTZITE
ORDOVICIAN ? CAMBRIAN ?
f r actur es obser ved wer e parti al l y to compl etel y
cemented wi th quartz.
ORANGE QUARTZ CONGLOMERATE TESTING OF THE WELL
11, 970
FRACTURES
PURPLE SHALE
PINK DOLOMITE
PURPLE SHALE
PRE- CAMBRIAN SCHIST
GREEN, MICACEOUS
h- PRE- CAMBRIAN GNEISS
12.045 TOTAL DEPTH
Fi gur e 4. Log of pre-Pennsyl vani an porti on
of di sposal wel l (Scopel , 1964).
tai ns brown to copper -col or ed mi ca and
kaol i ni te. The pre-Pennsyl vani an sedi -
ments and the Precambri an wer e not
cor ed.
The Precambri an schi st i s i mmedi atel y
above hi ghl y f r actur ed hornbl ende grani te
gnei ss whi ch contai ns pegmati te i ntrusi ons.
The top ei ght-f oot secti on of the gnei ss was
cor ed. Hedge and Wal thal l (1963) have
dated the gnei ss to be 1, 350 x 10 year s
ol d.
A porti on of the core menti oned above was
exami ned by the present author. The f r actur es
obser ved wer e al most verti cal and f r om one-
hal f -i nch to two i nches apart. When taken
f r om the cor e barrel , the core was f ound to be
spl i t apart al ong one f r actur e pl ane, and the
l ack of cementi ng materi al suggested that thi s
mi ght have been an open f r actur e. The other
A dri l l stem test was taken of the basal
Fountai n For mati on, the pre-Pennsyl vani an
rocks and Pr ecambr i an rocks f r om the bottom
of the 8-5/8-i nch casi ng at 11, 171 f eet to the
total depth of 11, 985 f eet. Recover y was
5,400 f eet of sal t water , i n addi ti on to 2, 000
f eet of water cushi on, i n 156 mi nutes. Ni nety-
thr ee-mi nute f i nal shut-i n pr essur e was 4, 128
pounds, measur ed at 11,002 f eet. Densi ty of
the water was 1.05 gm. /cc.
The wel l was dri l l ed ahead to 12, 045 f eet
wher e i t was compl eted i n Precambri an gnei ss.
Consi derabl e l ost ci rcul ati on was experi enced
whi l e cori ng, testi ng, and dri l l i ng the Precam-
bri an gnei ss f r om 11,970 to 12,045 f eet.
A 5-1/2-i nch l i ner was cemented f i ve f eet
i nto the Precambri an gnei ss f r om the bottom
64 f eet of the 8-5/8-i nch casi ng. Fi ve-and-
one- hal f -i nch tubi ng was run to 9, 011 f eet to
compl ete the wel l .
Duri ng November and December 1961 a
conventi onal oi l f i el d pump was run i n the wel l ,
and pumpi ng tests wer e conducted. Af ter
pumpi ng 1, 100 bar r el s of water , a quanti ty i n
excess of the amount of f l ui d that had been l ost
i nto the f ormati on dur i ng dri l l i ng operati ons,
the wel l pumped down and f l ui d r ecover y be-
came negl i gi bl e. It was concl uded, at the ti me
of testi ng, that f l ui d r ecover y was f r om f r ac-
tur es. It was f ur ther bel i eved that as f l ui d
was wi thdr awn f r om these f r actur es, they
wer e squeezed shut by compr essi ve f or ces
whi ch r estr i cted f l ui d entry i nto the wel l bor e.
Pr essur e i njecti on tests wer e conducted on
the wel l duri ng January 1962 to determi ne the
rates and i njecti on pr essur es at whi ch the Pr e-
cambri an woul d take the f l ui d. As a resul t of
these tests, i t was noti ced that cal cul ati ons of
the drai nage radi us and f or mati on capaci ty i n-
cr eased as f l ui d was i njected (see Cal houn,
1953, f or mor e on r eser voi r cal cul ati ons).
As a resul t of the testi ng pr ogr am, i t was
concl uded that the f ormati on woul d take f r esh
water at 400 gal l ons per mi nute under 650
pounds pr essur e, and that the r eser voi r con-
si sted of f r actur es whi ch expanded as addi ti onal
vol umes of f l ui d wer e i njected.
THE PRE SSURE I NJE CTI ON PROGRAM
Contami nated waste f r om the Arsenal
26
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pl ants i s f i r st col l ected and al l owed to settl e i n
a two-hundred-mi l l i on-gal l on waste-settl i ng
basi n that i s seal ed wi th an asphal ti c mem-
brane to pr event seepage. It i s then f l occul ated
and cl ar i f i ed. Next i t i s f i l ter ed to l ess than
20 parts per mi l l i on of suspended sol i ds l ess
than 5 mi cr ons i n di ameter . It i s ster i l i zed
and moni ter ed f or bacter i a, then pumped i nto
the wel l . Four 130-hor sepower posi ti ve-
di spl acement el ectri c pumps are avai l abl e.
Normal l y, two or thr ee pumps are used.
The f i r st contami nated waste was i njected
i nto the wel l dur i ng March 1962, when 4. 2
mi l l i on gal l ons of waste wer e i njected i nto the
wel l . The monthl y vol ume of waste i njected
i nto the wel l i s shown i n the l ower hal f of
f i gur e 5. Duri ng the f i r st year of operati on,
consi derabl e troubl e was experi enced wi th the
f i l ter pl ant wi th the r esul t that the i njecti on
wel l was of ten shut down f or a f ew days or
weeks at a ti me. From Mar ch 1962 unti l
September 1963 the maxi mum i njecti on pr essur e
i s r epor ted to have been about 550 pounds, wi th
a f l ui d i njecti on rate of 200 gal l ons per mi nute.
At the end of September 1963 the i njecti on
wel l was shut down, and no f l ui d was i njected
unti l operati ons were resumed 17 September
1964. Duri ng the shut-down peri od, sur f ace
evaporati on, f r om the settl i ng basi n, was
suf f i ci ent to handl e the pl ant output.
From 17 September 1964 unti l the end of
Mar ch 1965, i njecti on operati ons wer e r esumed
by gravi ty di schar ge i nto the wel l . No wel l -
head pr essur e was necessar y to i nject the
maxi mum of 2.4 mi l l i on gal l ons of waste per
month i nto the wel l .
Begi nni ng i n Apri l 1965 l arger quanti ti es
of f l ui d wer e i njected. The f i l ter pl ant operated
ef f i ci entl y, and f l ui d was usual l y i njected 16 to
24 hours dai l y. Duri ng Apri l and May a maxi -
mum pump pr essur e of 800 pounds was r equi r ed.
From June to the end of September 1965 a
maxi mum pr essur e of 1,050 pounds was re-
qui red to i nject 300 gal l ons per mi nute i nto the
wel l .
THE DE NVE R E ARTHQUAKE S
The U. S. Coast and Geodeti c Survey re-
ports that on 7 November 1882 an earthquake
was f el t i n the Denver, Loui svi l l e, George-
town, and S. E . Wyomi ng area (Wang, 1965).
From that date unti l Apri l 1962 no earthquake
epi center s wer e r ecor ded i n the Denver area
by ei ther the U. S. Coast and Geodeti c Survey
or by the Regi s Col l ege Sei smol ogi cal Observa-
tor y, l ocated ten mi l es southeast of the Rocky
Mountai n Ar senal wel l (Joseph V. Downey,
personal communi cati on, 1965).
Dur i ng Phe peri od f r om Apri l 1962 to the
end of September 1965, 710 ear thquakes wer e
r ecor ded wi th epi center s i n the vi ci ni ty of the
Arsenal at the Ceci l H. Green Observatory,
Ber gen Park, Col orado, operated by the
Col orado School of Mi nes (Pan, 1964; Wang,
1965; Jones, 1965, Mi nes Magazi ne, 1965).
The total number of earthquakes r epor ted
i n the Denver area i s pl otted i n the upper hal f
of f i gur e 5. The magni tude of the earthquakes
r epor ted r ange f r om 0. 7 to 4. 3 on the Ri chter
scal e. Tabl e 1 l i sts the earthquakes i n Col o-
rado of magni tude 3 and l ar ger , accor di ng to
the U. S. Coast and Geodeti c Survey reports
(Wang, 1965). Wang (1965) cal cul ated the epi -
center s and hypocenter s of the 1963-65 Denver
earthquakes, and the r esul ts of hi s cal cul ati ons
are shown i n f i gur e 6.
The majori ty of the earthquake epi centers
are wi thi n a f i ve-mi l e radi us of the wel l . Al l
epi centers cal cul ated f r om f our or mor e re-
cor di ng stati ons are wi thi n seven mi l es of the
wel l .
Wang (1965) cal cul ated the best-f i tti ng
pl ane passi ng thr ough the zone of hypocenters
cal cul ated f r om f our or mor e r ecor di ng stati ons.
He concl uded that thi s pl ane mi ght be a f aul t
al ong whi ch movement was taki ng pl ace. The
pl ane di ps to the east, and passes beneath the
arsenal wel l at a depth of about si x and one-
hal f mi l es (f i g. 6).
ROCK MOVE ME NT AND E ARTHQUAKE S
An attempt has been made to devel op a
method of esti mati ng, di r ectl y f r om sei smo-
gr ams, wave ener gy radi ated dur i ng an earth-
quake. Usi ng the f ormul a f avored by Tocher
(1964) and Ri chter (1958), the el asti c wave
ener gy of a magni tude 3 earthquake coul d be
provi ded by droppi ng a 100 f oot cube of rock a
di stance of a f ew f eet.
Admi ttedl y, the f or mul a appl i es to di stant
earthquakes and i s not routi nel y appl i cabl e to
l arge number of earthquakes, but i t does suggest
that the Denver earthquakes may be caused by
rel ati vel y mi nor rock movements.
28
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Fi gur e 6. E arthquake hypocenters duri ng 1963-64 f r om l ocal sei smol ogi cal stati ons i n the Denver
area (af ter Wang, 1965). Al l epi centers cal cul ated f r om f our or mor e recordi ng stati ons are wi thi n
seven mi l es of the Arsenal wel l . Al l hypocenters cal cul ated f r om f our or mor e recordi ng stati ons
are * i thi n area i ndi cated on secti on A - A.
30
PRE SSURE INJE CTION AND E ARTHQUAKE
FRE QUE NCY
Pr essur e i njecti on began i n Mar ch 1962.
The f i r st two earthquakes wi th epi center s i n
the Arsenal area wer e r ecor ded dur i ng Apri l
1962.
The l ower hal f of f i gur e 5 i s a gr aph of the
monthl y vol ume of waste i njected i nto the
Arsenal wel l . The total number of earthquakes
r ecor ded i n the Arsenal area i s pl otted each
month i n the upper hal f of the graph.
Duri ng the i ni ti al i njecti on peri od f r om
Mar ch 1962 to the end of September 1963, the
i njecti on program was of ten shut down f or r e-,
pai rs to the f i l ter pl ant. Duri ng thi s peri od
ther e does not appear to be a di rect month by
month correl ati on. However, the hi gh i njecti on
months of Apri l , May and June 1962 seem to
correl ate wi th the hi gh earthquake f r equency
months of June, Jul y and August. The hi gh
i njecti on months of Febr uar y and March 1963
may correl ate wi th the hi gh earthquake month
of Apri l .
The peri od of no i njecti on f r om September
1963 to September 1964 coi nci des wi th a peri od
of mi ni mum earthquake f requency. The peri od
of l ow vol ume i njecti on by gravi ty f l ow, f r om
September 1964 to Apri l 1965, i s char acter i zed
by two months (October and Febr uar y) of
gr eater earthquake f r equency than experi enced
dur i ng the preceedi ng year .
The most di r ect correl ati on of f l ui d i njec-
ti on wi th earthquake f r equency i s dur i ng the
months of June thr ough September 1965. Thi s
peri od was characteri zed by the pumpi ng of
300 gal l ons per mi nute, 16 to 24 hours a day,
at pr essur es of f r om 800 to 1,050 pounds.
A revi ew of the i njecti on pr ogr am reveal s
that there have been f i ve characteri sti c peri ods
of i njecti on i nto the wel l (f i g. 7):
1. Apri l 1962-Apri l 1963: Hi gh i njecti on
at medi um pr essur e.
2. May 1963-September 1963: Medi um i n-
jecti on at medi um pr essur e.
3. October 1963-September 1964: No i n-
jecti on.
4. September 1964-March 1965: Low i n-
jecti on at zero pr essur e (gr avi ty).
5. Apri l 1965-September 1965: Hi gh i n-
jecti on at hi gh pr essur e.
The average numbers of earthquakes per
month are pl otted i n f i gur e 7 above the average
vol umes of f l ui d i njected per month f or each of
these f i ve peri ods. The i njecti on f or March
1962 i s not used i n the aver age because the
exact day when i njecti on was started i s not
known.
Fi gure 7 i ndi cates that ther e i s a di r ect
correl ati on between average monthl y i njecti on
and earthquake f r equency when an i njecti on
pr ogr am i s carri ed out f or a peri od of f i ve
months.
Bardwel l (1966) has prepared a stati sti cal
anal ysi s, pr esented el sewher e i n thi s i ssue of
The Mountai n Geol ogi st, that suggests that a
mathemati cal rel ati onshi p exi sts between the
Denver earthquakes and the vol ume of contami -
nated waste i njected i nto the Arsenal wel l .
E FFE CT OF E ARTHQUAKE S ON INJE CTION
PRE SSURE
The wel l head-pr essur e i njecti on charts
wer e not avai l abl e f or the years 1962 and 1963.
Onl y the earthquakes of magni tude 3 or l arger
wer e checked agai nst the pr essur e i njecti on
charts f or 1965. These earthquakes are l i sted
in tabl e 1.
No charts wer e bei ng r ecor ded at the ti me
of the February and Jul y 1965 earthquakes.
Three pumps were mai ntai ni ng a pressure of
725 pounds when the September 14 earthquake
occur r ed. There was no change i n i njecti on at
the ti me of the event.
Al l owi ng f or a f ew mi nutes ti me di scr ep-
ancy between the char t ti me and r ecor ded ti me
of the earthquakes, the two earthquakes of 29
September may have af f ected the i njecti on
pr essur e. Duri ng the f i r st earthquake, at
12:59 P.M. MOST, the pr essur e r ecor di ng
needl e on the pr essur e chart jumped f r om 970
pounds to 940 pounds and al so r epeated a ten
mi nute ti me i nterval on the chart. Duri ng the
second earthquake, at 1:20 P.M. MOST, the
pr essur e dropped f r om 960 pounds to 780
pounds. Whether thi s 180-pound pr essur e dr op
was due to the earthquake or to the sl owi ng up
of one of the pumps i s not known.
FLUID PRE SSURE AND THE ARSE NAL
E ARTHQUAKE S
The evi dence gai ned f rom dri l l i ng and
testi ng the Arsenal di sposal wel l i ndi cates that
the Precambri an r eser voi r i s composed of a
hi ghl y f r actur ed grani te gnei ss whi ch i s sub-
stanti al l y i mper meabl e. The f r actur es are
al most verti cal , and porosi ty of the r eser voi r
i s f or med by these f r actur es. The evi dence
31
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23
03
AVE RAGE NUMBE R OF DE NVE R E ARTHQUAKE S
PE R MONTH
AVERAGE GALLONS OF WASTE INJECTED
PER MONTH IN ARSENAL DISPOSAL WELL
-_MAXIMUM INJECTION-
-PRESSURE 550 LBS-
-NO WASTE
INJECTED
^INJECTED
Y GRAVITY
MAXIMUM
INJECTION}
PRESSURE
1050 LBSA
1962 1963 1964 1965
Fi gure 7. E arthquake f r equency - waste i njecti on rel ati onshi ps duri ng f i ve characteri sti c peri ods.
i ndi cates that as f l ui d was pumped out of the
r eser voi r the f ractures cl osed, and as f l ui d
was i njected i nto the reservoi r the f ractures
opened. In other wor ds, the pumpi ng and i n-
jecti on tests i ndi cated that rock movement
occur r ed as f l ui d was wi thdrawn or i njected at
rel ati vel y l ow pr essur es.
The pr essur e-depth rel ati ons of the Pre-
cambri an reservoi r, showi ng hydrostati c and
l i thostati c pr essur e vari ati ons wi th depth, are
shown i n f i gure 8. These data wer e deter-
mi ned f rom the dri l l stem test. As shown on
the chart, the obser ved pr essur e of the Pre-
cambri an r eser voi r i s al most 900 pounds l ess
than hydrostati c pr essur e.
Hubbert and Rubey (1959) devi sed a si mpl e
and adequate means of reduci ng by the requi red
amount the f ri cti onal resi stance to the sl i di ng
of l arge over thr ust bl ocks down very gentl e
sl opes. Thi s ari ses f r om the ci rcumstance
that the wei ght of such a bl ock i s joi ntl y sup-
ported by sol i d stress and the pr essur e of i nter-
sti ti al f l ui ds. As the f l ui d pr essur e approaches
the l i thostati c pr essur e, correspondi ng to a
f l otati on of the overburden, the sheer stress
r equi r ed to move the bl ock approaches zer o.
If hi gh f l ui d pressures r educe f ri cti onal
resi stance and permi t rocks to sl i de down very
gentl e sl opes, i t f ol l ows that, as f l ui d pr essur e
i s decreased, f ri cti onal resi stance between
bl ocks of rock i s i ncreased, thus permi tti ng
them to come to rest on i ncreasi ngl y steep
sl opes. The steeper the sl ope upon whi ch a
bl ock of rock i s at rest, the l ower the requi red
rai se i n f l ui d pressure necessary to produce
movement.
In the case of the Precambri an reservoi r
beneath the Arsenal wel l , these rocks wer e at
32
FORMATION PRESSURE (Ib./in
2
)
2000 4000 6000_ 8000 10.000 12,000 14,000
2000
4000
J
^6000
J 8000
10,000
12,000
.^LITHOSTATIC
PRESSURE
OBSERVED ^uvnoncTATir*
PRESSURE *\\HYDROSTAT1C^
oFpc WATER* \PRESSURE
pC WATER
Fi gur e 8. Pr essur e-depth rel ati ons, Pre-
cambr i an r eser voi r , Rocky Mountai n Ar senal
Di sposal wel l .
equi l i br i um on hi gh-angl e f r actur e pl anes wi th
a f l ui d pr essur e of 900 pounds l ess than hydr o-
stati c pr essur e bef or e i njecti on began.
As f l ui d was i njected i nto the Precambri an
r eser voi r , the f l ui d pr essur e adjacent to the
wel l bore r ose, and the f ri cti onal resi stance
al ong the f r actur e pl anes was ther eby r educed.
When, f i nal l y, enough f l ui d pressure was
exer ted over a l arge enough area movement
took pl ace. The el asti c wave ener gy r el eased
was r ecor ded as an ear thquake.
Si nce the f ormati on f l ui d pr essur e i s 900
pounds sub-hydr ostati c, mer el y f i l l i ng the hol e
wi th contami nated waste (mostl y sal t water )
rai ses the f or mati on pr essur e 900 pounds, or
to the equi val ent of hydr ostati c pr essur e. Any
appl i ed i njecti on pr essur e above that of gravi ty
f l ow br i ngs about an i ncrease i n pr essur e re-
sul ti ng i n a total i n excess of hydrostati c
pr essur e. For exampl e, an i njecti on pr essur e
of 1, 000 pounds woul d rai se the r eser voi r
pr essur e adjacent to the wel l bore 1, 900
pounds, or by the amount necessar y to br i ng
the pr essur e to hydr ostati c (by f i l l i ng the hol e)
pl us 1,000 pounds.
Appar entl y a ri se i n f l ui d pr essur e wi thi n
the Precambri an reservoi r of f r om 900 to
1, 900 pounds i s suf f i ci ent to al l ow movement
to take pl ace.
OPE N FRACTURE S
The hypocenters i n the Arsenal area
pl otted f r om data der i ved f r om f our or more
r ecor di ng stati ons i ndi cate that movement i s
taki ng pl ace beneath the Ar senal wel l at depths
of f r om 1-1/2 to 1Z mi l es. If the Pr ecambr i an
f r actur e system extends to a depth of 12 mi l es,
then f l ui d pr essur e coul d be tr ansmi tted to thi s
depth by moder ate sur f ace i njecti on pr essur e
as l ong as the f r actur e system was open f or the
transmi ssi on of thi s pr essur e.
Secor (1965) concl uded that open f ractures
can occur to great depths even wi th onl y mod-
eratel y hi gh f l ui d pr essur e-over bur den wei ght
rati os. It appears possi bl e that hi gh-angl e,
open f r actur es may be pr esent beneath the
Arsenal wel l at great depths wi th much l ower
f l ui d pr essur e-over bur den wei ght rati os than
has f or mer l y been consi der ed possi bl e.
Al most 150 mi l l i on gal l ons of contami nated
waste had been i njected i nto the Arsenal wel l
by the end of September 1965. Si nce thi s
amount of water woul d be enough to f i l l f our
conti nuous I /16-i nch f r actur es each seven
mi l es l ong (the maxi mum di stance of epi center s
f rom the wel l l ocated by f our or more record-
i ng stati ons) and f i ve mi l es deep, i t can be
seem that a rel ati vel y smal l area i s bei ng
af f ected by the i njecti on pr ogr am.
TIME LAG BE TWE E N FLUID INJE CTION AND
E ARTHQUAKE S
The cor r el ati on of f l ui d i njected wi th earth-
quake f r equency (f i g. 5) suggests that a ti me
l ag exi sts between the two. Bardwel l (1966)
notes that the f r equency of Denver earthquakes
appear s to l ag i njected waste by approxi matel y
one to f our months. Thi s phenomenon i s prob-
abl y the same as that descr i bed by Seraf i m and
del Carnpo (1965). They descr i be the obser ved
ti me l ag between water l evel s i n r eser voi r s
and the pr essur es measur ed i n the f oundati ons
of dams, and ascr i be thi s to an unsteady state
of percol ati on through open joi nts i n the rock
mass due to the openi ng and cl osi ng of these
passages resul ti ng f r om i nternal and external l y
appl i ed pr essur es.
The ti me l ag between waste i njected i n the^__
Arsenal wel l and earthquake f requency i s
probabl y due to an unsteady state of percol ati on
thr ough f r actur es i n the Precambri an r eser voi r
33
due to the openi ng and cl osi ng of these f r actur es
resul ti ng f r om the appl i ed f l ui d pr essur e of the
i njected waste. The del ayed appl i cati on of thi s
pr essur e at a di stance f r om the wel l bore i s
bel i eved to tr i gger the movement r ecor ded as
an ear thquake.
E ARTHQUAKE S DURI NG SHUT-DOWN PE RIOD
In consi der i ng the earthquake f r equency
dur i ng the year the i njecti on wel l was shut down,
i t i s unf ortunate that nei ther peri odi c bottom -
hol e pr essur e tests nor checks of the f l ui d
l evel i n the hol e wer e run. Had these measur e-
ments been made, then specul ati on as to how
l ong i t took f or the bottom-hol e pr essur e to
decl i ne woul d have been unnecessar y.
By the end of September 1963, 102.3
mi l l i on gal l ons of f l ui d had been i njected i nto
the wel l . It i s bel i eved that thi s i njecti on had
rai sed the f l ui d pr essur e i n the r eser voi r f or
some di stance sur r oundi ng the wel l bore. Dur-
i ng the shut-down peri od thi s el evated pr essur e
was equal i zi ng thr oughout the r eser voi r and at
i ncr easi ng di stances f r om the wel l bor e. As
thi s f l ui d pr essur e r educed the f ri cti onal r e-
si stance i n f r actur es f ar ther away f r om the
wel l , movement occur r ed, and smal l earth-
quakes wer e the resul t.
SUMMARY AND CONCLUSION
The Rocky Mountai n Ar senal Pr essur e In-
jecti on Di sposal wel l was dr i l l ed f or the pur -
pose of di sposi ng of contami nated waste water ,
whi ch i s a by-pr oduct of chemi cal war f ar e
pr oducts manuf actur ed at the Arsenal .
Dur i ng the month f ol l owi ng the i ni ti ati on of
i njecti on of waste water i nto the al most ver ti -
cal l y f r actur ed Precambri an rocks ther e wer e
two ear thquakes wi th epi center s i n the Ar senal
ar ea.
A summar y of the evi dence rel ati ng the
Ar senal i njecti on pr ogr amwi th the earthquakes
i s:
1. The f i r st ear thquakes obser ved dur i ng
the pr esent centur y wi th epi center s i n
the Denver area wer e r ecor ded dur i ng
the month f ol l owi ng the i ni ti ati on of the
Ar senal i njecti on pr ogr am.
2. Si nce the i ni ti ati on of the i njecti on pr o-
gr am i n Mar ch 1962, 150 mi l l i on gal l ons
of waste have been i njected i nto the
Ar senal wel l , and ther e have been 710
ear thquakes (to 1 October 1965).
3. The majori ty of the earthquake epi -
center s are l ocated wi thi n f i ve mi l es of
the Arsenal wel l . Al l epi center s deter -
mi ned f r om f our -or -mor e stati on data
are wi thi n seven mi l es of the wel l .
4. Ther e i s evi dence that the earthquake
acti vi ty i s taki ng pl ace al ong a pl ane
that di ps eastwar d and passes beneath
the Arsenal wel l at a depth of 6. 5 mi l es
(Wang, 1965).
5. When the Arsenal i njecti on pr ogr am i s
consi der ed on the basi s of hi gh, medi um,
l ow, or no i njecti on, ther e i s a cor r el a-
ti on between the f l ui d i njected and earth-
quake f r equency.
6. The best correl ati on of earthquake f r e-
quency wi th f l ui d i njected occur r ed
duri ng Jul y, August and September 1965,
when rel ati vel y l arge amounts of f l ui d
wer e i njected at hi gher pr essur es and
f or l onger per i ods of ti me than pre-
vi ousl y.
7. A stati sti cal anal ysi s (Bar dwel l , 1966)
i s ci ted that suggests a mathemati cal
r el ati onshi p between Arsenal earth-
quakes and vol umes of waste i njected
i nto the Arsenal wel l .
The vol ume of f l ui d i njected appears to be
af f ecti ng the Precambri an r eser voi r onl y f or a
l i mi ted di stance f r om the wel l bore, and r ough
esti mates of the ener gy r el eased by a si ngl e
ear thquake suggest that rel ati vel y mi nor rock
movement i s i nvol ved.
The Precambri an r eser voi r r ecei vi ng the
Ar senal waste i s hi ghl y f r actur ed gr ani te
gnei ss of ver y l ow per meabi l i ty. The f r actur es
are nearl y verti cal . The f r actur e porosi ty of
the r eser voi r i s f i l l ed wi th sal t water . Reser -
voi r pr essur e i s 900 pounds sub-hydr ostati c.
It appears that movement i s taki ng pl ace
i n thi s f r actur ed r eser voi r as a resul t of the
i njecti on of water at pr essur es f r om 900 to
1,950 pounds gr eater than r eser voi r pr essur e.
Hubbert and Rubey (1959) poi nt out that
rock masses i n f l ui d-f i l l ed r eser voi r s are
suppor ted by sol i d str ess and the pr essur e of
i ntersti ti al f l ui ds. As f l ui d pr essur e approaches
l i thostati c pr essur e, the shear str ess r equi r ed
to move rock masses down ver y gentl y sl opes
appr oaches zer o.
It appear s that these pri nci pl es of f er an
expl anati on of the r ock movement i n the
Ar senal r eser voi r . The hi ghl y f r actur ed r ocks
of the r eser voi r are at r est on steep sl opes
under a condi ti on of sub-hydr ostati c f l ui d
34
r
pr essur e. As the f l ui d pr essur e i s rai sed
wi thi n the r eser voi r , f ri cti onal resi stance
al ong f racture pl anes i s reduced and, even-
tual l y, movement takes pl ace. The el asti c
wave ener gy rel eased i s r ecor ded as an earth-
quake.
If earthquake hypocenters i ndi cate the
poi nt at whi ch movement i s taki ng pl ace and
i njected f l ui d i s tr i gger i ng thi s movement, then
ther e i s evi dence that open f r actur es exi st at
depths of 12 mi l es under condi ti ons of l ower
f l ui d pr essur e-over bur den wei ght rati os than
has f or mer l y been consi dered possi bl e (Secor ,
1965). It i s bel i eved that the hi gh angl e of thi s
f r actur e system i s an i mportant f actor. Be-
cause the f r actur es are al most verti cal , onl y a
smal l par t of the l i thostati c pr essur e i s acti ng
to f or ce the f r actur es cl osed, and they can re-
mai n open under condi ti ons of l ower f l ui d
pr essur e, and at greater depth than i f they
wer e hori zontal or i ncl i ned at a l ower angl e.
The ti me l ag between f l ui d i njecti on and
earthquake f r equency i s bel i eved to be due to
the unsteady state of percol ati on of f l ui d through
the f r actur es i n the r eser voi r due to the open-
i ng and cl osi ng of these passages resul ti n'g
f r om the appl i ed pr essur e of the i njected waste.
It i s bel i eved that as f l ui d conti nues to be
i njected i nto thi s r eser voi r f l ui d pr essur e wi l l
be i ncr eased at greater di stances f r om the wel l
bore, and rock movement wi l l be occurri ng at
ever i ncreasi ng di stances.
In the pr esent case i t i s bel i eved that a
stabl e si tuati on i n thi s Precambri an r eser voi r
i s bei ng made unstabl e by the appl i cati on of
f l ui d pr essur e. However , i t i s i nteresti ng to
specul ate that the pri nci pl e of i ncreasi ng f l ui d
RE FE RE NCE S
Ander man, G. G. , and Ackman, E . J. , 1963,
Str uctur e of the Denver -Jul esbur g Basi n
and sur r oundi ng areas: in Rocky Mtn.
Assoc. Geol ogi sts Gui debook to the Geol ogy
of the nor ther n Denver Basi n and adjacent
upl i f ts.
Anonymous, 1965, Geophysi cal observatory.
Mi nes Mag., v. 55, no. 5, p. 24-26.
Bar dwel l , G. E . , 1966, Some stati sti cal
f eatur e of the r el ati onshi p between Rocky
Mountai n Ar senal waste di sposal and
f r equency of earthquakes: The Mountai n
Geol ogi st, v. 3, no. 1, p. 37-42.
Boos, C. M. , and Boos, M. F., 1957,
Tectoni cs of eatern f l ank and f oothi l l s of
the Front Range, Col orado: Am. Assoc.
Petrol eum Geol ogi sts Bul l ., v. 41, p.
7.603-2676.
pr essur e to rel ease el asti c wave ener gy mi ght
have an appl i cati on i n the subject of earthquake
modi f i cati on. That i s, i t mi ght someday be
possi bl e to rel i eve the str esses al ong some
f aul t zones i n urban areas by i ncreasi ng the
f l ui d pr essur es al ong the zone usi ng a seri es
of i njecti on wel l s. The accumul ated str ess
mi ght thus be rel eased at wi l l i n a ser i es of
non-damagi ng earthquakes i nstead of eventual l y
r esul ti ng i n one l arge event that mi ght cause a
major di saster .
ACKNOWLE DGE ME NTS
The author i s especi al l y obl i gated to Ben
H. Par ker , who cri ti cal l y r ead the manuscr i pt
and made many val uabl e suggesti ons. Thanks
are al so due to Lt. Col . Marti n J. Burke, Jr .,
Commandi ng Of f i cer of the Rocky Mountai n
Ar senal , Lt. Col . Wi l l i am J. Ti sdal e, Di r ec-
tor of Industri al Operati ons, and to the Arsenal
E ngi neeri ng Depar tment, f or ai d i n compi l i ng
the wel l and i njecti on data; John C. Hol l i ster
and Mauri ce W. Major of the Col orado School
of Mi nes Geophysi cal E ngi neer i ng Department,
f or hel p i n compi l i ng the earthquake data;
Joseph V. Downey, S. J. , Di rector of the
Regi s Col l ege Sei smol ogi cal Obser vator y, f or
earthquake data pri or to 1962; George E .
Bar dwel l , f or undertaki ng the stati sti cal
anal ysi s, pr esented el sewher e i n thi s i ssue;
L. Tr owbr i dge Grose and Davi d T. Snow f or
i nf ormati on concerni ng the rol e of f l ui d pr es-
sure i n joi nti ng; Harry C. Kent and Davi d A.
Moore f or cri ti cal l y readi ng the manuscr i pt;
and to John A. Rathbone and Charl es C. Wor ks
f or suggesti ons concer ni ng the stati sti cal
anal ysi s .
Cal houn, J. C., 1953, Reser voi r rocks and
r ock-f l ui d systems, Part II, Fundamental s
of Reser voi r E ngi neeri ng, Norman,
Uni versi ty of Okl a. Pr ess.
Gahr, W. M. , 1961, Contami nati on of ground
water , vi ci ni ty of Denver (abstr act):
Symposi um on Water I mpr ovement, Am.
Assoc. Adv. Sci . , p. 9-20.
Hedge, C. E ., and Wal thal l , F. G. , 1963,
Radi ogeni c Str onti um-87 as an i ndexof
geol ogi c pr ocesses: Sci ence, v. 140,
p. 1Z14-1217.
Hubber t, M. K., and Rubey, W. W. , 1959,
Rol e of f l ui d pr essur e i n mechani cs of
over thr ust f aul ti ng: Pt. I, Mechani cs of
f l ui d-f i l l ed porous sol i ds and i ts appl i ca-
ti on to over thr ust f aul ti ng: Geol . Soc.
Amer i ca' Bul l . , v. 70, p. 115-166.
?
' ' ' ,
35
, 1961, Rol e of f l ui d pressure
i n mechani cs of over thr ust f aul ti ng, a
repl y: Geol . Soc. Amer i ca Bul l ., v. 72,
p. 1445-1452.
Jones, P. B., 1965, Der by ar ea ear thquakes,
1964: Col orado School of Mi nes, Dept.
of Geophysi cs, unpubl i shed r epor t.
Mechem, O. E . , and Gar r ett, J. H. , 1963,
Deep i njecti on di sposal wel l f or l i qui d
toxi c \vaste: Proc. Am. Soc. Ci vi l E ng. ,
Jour. Constr ucti on Di vi si on, p. 111-121.
Pan, Poh-Hsi , 1963, The 1962 ear thquakes
and mi cr o-ear thquakes near Derby,
Col orado: unpubl i shed M. Sc. thesi s,
Col o. School of Mi nes.
Ri chter , C. F., 1958, E l ementar y sei smol ogy,
San Fr anci sco, W. H. Fr eeman & Co.
Scopel , L. J. , 1964, Pr essur e i njecti on di s-
posal wel l , Rocky Mountai n Ar senal ,
Denver , Col orado: The Mountai n Geol ogi st,
v. 1, no. 1, p. 35-42.
Secor, D. T., Jr ., 1965, Rol e of f l ui d
pr essur e i n joi nti ng: Am. Jour . Sci . ,
v. 263, p. 633-646.
Ser af i m, J. L. , and del Campo, A. , 1965,
I nter sti ti al pr essur es on rock f oundati ons
of dams: Jour , of the Soi l Mechani cs and
Foundati ons Di v. , Proc. Am. Soc. of
Ci vi l E ngr s., v. 91, no. SM5.
Tocher , D. , 1964, E ar thquakes and r ati ng
scal es: GeoTi mes, v. 8, no. 8, p. 15-20.
Wal ker , T. R. , 1961, Ground water contami -
nati on i n the Rocky Mountai n Ar senal ar ea,
Denver , Col orado: Geol . Soc. Amer i ca
Bul l ., v. 72, p. 489-494.
Wang, Yung-Hang, 1965, Local hypocenter
deter mi nati on i n l i near l y var yi ng l ayer s
appl i ed to ear thquakes i n the Denver ar ea:
unpubl i shed D. Sc. thesi s, Col o. School of
Mi nes.
Manuscr i pt r ecei ved December 20, 1965.
me donaId and childers
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