OURAY – For the first time in more than 25 years, the city of Ouray is exploring the possibility of harnessing power from its geothermal hot springs. Fossil fuels burning in furnaces on Main Street could be replaced with the clean energy stored in Ouray’s deep natural furnaces, say proponents of geothermal energy.

The U.S. Department of Energy and the Bureau of Land Management, as well as the Colorado Geological Society have identified southwest Colorado as a promising site for geothermal energy development. However, don’t expect to see any major geothermal power plants cropping up near Ouray. Mayor Bob Risch and other supporters of alternative energy are currently considering small-scale projects such as a central heating district or geothermal heating for affordable housing.

Ouray’s 2020 Economic Development Plan recommends that the city seek assistance from the Governor’s Energy Office for renewable energy programs. Prospects for grant funding are positive in view of the state’s new energy standard, which stipulates that 20 percent of all energy produced in Colorado must be renewable by the year 2020.

Risch said city council has received lots of support from the community for making more efficient use of geothermal and surface water resources. “We must cut back on carbon emissions. We owe it to the planet and future generations,” he said. “Ouray is fortunate to have this great resource, for both tourism and alternative energy.”

Risch’s vision of a greener, more self-sufficient Ouray includes someday powering the city with the Ouray Hydroelectric Plant. In his address to the Ouray Business Roundtable last March, he also noted the possibility of harvesting energy from cooler springs and tail water from springs already in use.

During a February retreat, Ouray City Council agreed on the need for an extensive survey and inventory of geothermal resources. The city has applied for a grant for these studies from the Governor’s Energy Office and is now awaiting word on the status of the application.

This is not the first time the city has explored the feasibility of tapping its thermal hot springs for renewable energy. In 1982, the city received DOE grant money for a geothermal resource assessment. Several experimental wells were drilled throughout town. Although the assessment provided data on flow volumes and water quality, the drilling itself did more harm than good, and plans for a central heating district were abandoned.

Three Ouray lodging establishments that have hot springs water rights claimed damage to their flows from the drilling: Box Canyon Lodge, Twin Peaks Best Western and Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa and Lodgings. After almost 18 years of litigation, the Wiesbaden received $550,000 in compensation from the city.

“I hope if there is further geothermal exploration activity, the city and state will proceed in a safe manner and not injure anyone’s hot springs,” said Linda Wright-Minter, owner of the Wiesbaden.

The state’s new Geothermal Rules were enacted due to lawsuits incurred from the 1982 drilling. In 2004 the state’s Division of Water Resources stiffened the requirements for well drilling. Now the state will not issue a well permit until owners of all water and geothermal rights within half a mile of the proposed well have been informed and provided input.

The city’s 1982 study was poorly executed in that wells were drilled before the geothermal inventory and adequate baseline flow monitoring was done, according to Wayne Goin, hydrogeologist and owner of Montrose-based Minion Hydrologic. The key to preventing past mistakes from recurring, he said, is to “take a conservative approach.” That is, carefully define existing geothermal resources; take flow measurements, especially in late winter; gather water quality data; and map the area’s geology.

Most important, “make sure the community is involved in this phase,” Goin added. “Many people base their living on Ouray’s hot springs. Preventing injury to existing geothermal water rights owners should be a major priority in this initiative.”

The city’s Economic Development Plan mirrors Goin’s warning. In supporting the concept of geothermal heat, the document urges that, “geothermal resource development should proceed with caution and careful legal consideration.”

Goin, who helped the city write the most recent grant proposal, said the city could derive small-scale energy from untapped springs through noninvasive technologies. He likes the mayor’s idea of doing a more comprehensive inventory that might locate new springs. The city also is planning to investigate rehabilitation of the existing distribution system and potential for reuse of return flow from the Ouray Hot Springs Pool, Goin said.

The area’s three primary hot springs, which range in temperature from about 80 to 150 degrees, already are providing space heating for a few buildings. Those include several buildings in the municipal hot springs complex and the Wiesbaden facilities. Warm runoff from the Wiesbaden’s spring at one time was used to melt the ice on sidewalks below the spa, but problems with the pipe system have curtailed that practice.

The Twin Peaks Best Western and Box Canyon Lodge, both located close to the source of the Box Canyon springs, use the springs to heat domestic hot water. The Box Canyon Inn heats water for one of its buildings by way of copper coils immersed in tanks filled with geothermal water. The owners are now laying plumbing to heat the lodge’s laundry water via the hot springs. “We were losing large amounts of spring water into the river, so we said, why not use it? The process really isn’t that complicated,” said Karen Avery, co-owner of the Box Canyon Lodge. Avery said she “has no problem” with the city using geothermal power for similar purposes.

Craig MacCraiger, owner of the Silver Nugget Café, is among the supporters of a geothermal heating district as long as individual water rights are respected. He heats his Main Street business with natural gas but would prefer to use a renewable resource. “I think geothermal heating for the city is a marvelous idea,” he said. “We’re sitting on a volcano of thermal energy that could be used for heat and electricity and to improve the city’s hot water system.”

Pagosa Springs is the only municipality in the state with a geothermal heating district. The system provides heat to schools, churches and other customers, as well as hydronic heating for sidewalks during the winter. Other communities such as Steamboat Springs are investigating new uses for their geothermal resources, both for environmental and economic reasons.

Ouray will heat its businesses, city buildings, school, and homes with its precious springs depends on a host of unknowns including grant funding, results of geological studies, and public acceptance. Many details have yet to be nailed down. “We think there is potential for a central heating district in Ouray but it’s too early to estimate costs and payback periods,” said Risch.

This time around, mistakes will not be repeated, he emphasized. “Everyone knows about the problems we had last time. We are committed to developing this valuable resource safely.”