RRC Investigation Does Not Indicate High H2S Levels at Boehmer Lake

AUSTIN – Recent reports state that a water well believed to be the source of Boehmer Lake in Pecos County in West Texas has been releasing unusually high amounts of hydrogen sulfide.

The RRC has not received any information to support these claims.

The reports state that readings as high as 14,000 parts per million were recorded at the site. Levels above 700 ppm would mean sudden unconsciousness and above 1,000 ppm would result in “nearly instant death,” according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

The RRC has been investigating a prior complaint from the Middle Pecos Groundwater Conservation District to determine whether the water well is affecting oil, gas or freshwater strata or if the well is polluted with mineral water. During a visit in January to Boehmer Lake as part of that investigation, RRC did not detect any H₂S.

An RRC inspector and contractors inspected the lake and canal system and took water samples, all while wearing H₂S monitors. Those monitors are designed to go off if they read H₂S levels at or above 10 ppm. OSHA rules state that the allowable level for workers is 10 ppm or less.

The H₂S monitors worn were not triggered, and neither RRC’s inspector nor contractors were harmed.