Opinion ID: 2582212
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Depth of the Proposed WellCompletion Into the Fractured Bedrock Aquifer

Text: {31} The key Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law relied upon by the district court and the Court of Appeals, and disputed by the Herringtons, are as follows: [Finding of Fact 27:] There is no evidence that the groundwater from the deep bedrock aquifer underlying [the] Rio de Arenas contributes to the flow of the Rio de Arenas at Herringtons' point of diversion on the Frazier-Bateman Ditch. .... [Finding of Fact 31:] A well this deep will not capture the water that would be available to [the] Herringtons as surface water, or surface water that has seeped into the ground, because the depth of the well will extend into the deep bedrock aquifer which does not contribute to the flow of the Rio de Arenas. .... [Conclusion of Law 10:] The proposed well sought by Herringtons goes into the deep bedrock aquifer and there is no evidence of an upward leakage from the aquifer that contributes to the flow of surface water at Herringtons' current point of diversion on the Frazier-Bateman Ditch. {32} The parties agree that the proposed well is to extend 100 feet into fractured shale and sandstone (the fractured bedrock aquifer) which underlie the alluvial sediments. The State Engineer seems to characterize the underlying system as consisting of two aquifers: the shallow aquifer, and the deeper fractured bedrock aquifer. Under this view, the fractured bedrock aquifer would be like the artesian aquifer in Langenegger that was separated from the higher, shallow aquifer by an impermeable barrier. Consistent with Langenegger, the Herringtons would have to show that the deep bedrock aquifer contributes water via leakage through an impermeable, or semi-permeable layer to the shallow aquifer and ultimately to the Rio de Arenas. {33} The Herringtons, however, claim that this is a one-aquifer case like Templeton, and not a two-aquifer case like Langenegger. The Herringtons argue that no semi-confining, impermeable layer separates the alluvium from the fractured bedrock aquifer where they propose their well. As a result, the Herringtons maintain that both the alluvium and fractured sandstone are parts of the same continuous, hydrologically connected aquifer that feeds the Rio de Arenas baseflow. Therefore, the Herringtons conclude that a well that pumps water from this depth draws from the same source as the baseflow, exactly as in Templeton. {34} In analyzing how the district court viewed the system, we discern an analogy between this case and Langenegger. The disputed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law stating that there is no upward leakage from the deep aquifer up to the shallow aquifer address the requirement in Langenegger, that in order to drill a Templeton well into a deeper, hydrologically discontinuous aquifer, the applicant must demonstrate that the lower aquifer leaks upward, through the semi-confining layer, into the shallow aquifer as happens in an artesian system under pressure. Langenegger, 82 N.M. at 421-22, 483 P.2d at 302-03. The district court therefore may have treated the Rio de Arenas aquifer system as consisting of two separate aquifers, and raised the inquiry of leakage from the fractured sandstone up to the shallow alluvium and surface flow. As stated by the Court of Appeals, [i]n addition, we note that the Herringtons repeatedly assert on appeal that there is no impermeable layer between the deep and shallow aquifers. This directly contradicts the district court's finding that there is no leakage from the deep to the shallow aquifer. Herrington, 2004-NMCA-062, ¶ 34, 135 N.M. 585, 92 P.3d 31. {35} Yet other findings of the district court appear to assume that the underlying alluvium and fractured sandstone are all part of the same, continuous aquifer, as in Templeton. In Finding of Fact 24, the district court specifically found no subsurface impermeable separation within the underlying aquifer. The district court also suggests a direct hydrologic connection between the surface and the proposed well depth in Finding of Fact 36, stating that the Rio de Arenas Valley had experienced depletion from wells specifically from the pumping and depletion of pockets of water in the fractured bedrock aquifer,  which appears to be the same description of where the Herringtons seek to put their well (emphasis added). This finding is significant because if junior domestic wells completed in the fractured sandstone intercepted water that fed the Rio de Arenas, and the Herringtons seek to drill a well to the same depth, they may be tapping the same source that fed the surface stream. [5] Again, this finding is at odds with other findings that the groundwater from the deep bedrock aquifer does not contribute to the Rio de Arenas flow, and that the Herrington's well would capture surface water that had seeped into the ground. {36} Ultimately, this case presents a series of irreconcilable and conflicting findings and conclusions that only the district court can resolve. It is clear that the Herringtons may be entitled to a well of some depth, as they have demonstrated the Templeton predicates discussed supra. We therefore think the fairest solution is to remand to the district court for an opportunity to clarify its findings and conclusions. See State ex rel. Human Servs. Dep't v. Coleman, 104 N.M. 500, 505-06, 723 P.2d 971, 976-77 (Ct.App.1986) (stating if ambiguity or doubt exists as to the trial court's findings of fact, court can remand when the ends of justice so require), abrogated on other grounds by State v. Alberico, 116 N.M. 156, 861 P.2d 192 (1993). Specifically, the court is to determine whether the proposed well in this case taps one aquifer, or two aquifers separated by an impermeable or semipermeable boundary. If the proposed well taps the same, hydrologically continuous aquifer that feeds baseflow to the Rio de Arenas and provides water to the offending wells as discussed herein, then the proposed well at this depth may not be prohibited under Templeton. If the well taps a second deeper aquifer, then the well is prohibited under Templeton and Langenegger, because the trial court has already established that there is no upward leakage at a depth of 100 feet.