WATER WELLS PROJECTS

Jamie Jensen Ranch - Well Investigations

Jamie Jensen owned a horse property on Swede Gulch near Evergreen, Colorado. The ranch was served by numerous existing wells, but they were generally inadequate. A new well had recently been constructed on the property, but Ms. Jensen was concerned that the well had not been properly installed.

Martin and Wood, as part of its larger scope of general consulting for Ms. Jensen, reviewed the construction details and history of the permitting action and found that the well did indeed violate Colorado Rules and Regulations for water well construction and that a non-licensed contractor had carried out some of the work. A lawsuit developed over payment for and replacement of the defective structure, and Martin and Wood presented expert testimony in Jefferson County District Court. The Court awarded a judgment in favor of Ms. Jensen.

Randi Levin Well - Well Investigations

Ms. Levin is the owner of a water well that was under intermittent artesian pressure conditions resulting in occasional discharge of water to a down-sloping meadow bisected by a neighbor's access road. The culvert under the road became blocked by ice, and water flooded the road, and then froze, leading to icy conditions on the road. The neighbor sought to sue to force Ms. Levin to pay for a repair to the roadway and culvert, but the neighbor agreed to go to arbitration as an alternative.

On behalf of Ms. Levin, Martin and Wood assessed the overall hydrology of the meadow and offered opinions as to whether the amount of water intermittently flowing from the well could have caused the roadway problem. The investigations carried out showed that the meadow was actually part of a much larger drainage basin that developed significant spring flows along its flanks below Ms. Levin's well. In addition, Martin and Wood found that the culvert was improperly sized to allow for adequate passage through of the normal basin flows. Martin and Wood presented expert testimony in the arbitration, and a judgment favorable to Ms. Levin resulted.