Another minor quake recorded near Weathersfield injection well

WEATHERSFIELD

In addition to the 2.1-magnitude earthquake that hit the American Water Management Services injection wells Aug. 30, one of 1.7 magnitude hit nearby July 28, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources says.

That event occurred about two weeks after the company used its authorized increase from ODNR to raise the injection pressure from 1,025 pounds per square inch to 1,200 on one of its two wells.

The 1.7 quake had an epicenter about 500 feet from the injection wells, ODNR says. The company reduced its injection pressure back to 1,025 pounds per square inch around the beginning of August.

Bethany McCorkle, ODNR spokesperson, said she doesn’t know whether the July 28 earthquake is the reason American Water Management Services took the pressure back down.

Seismometers maintained by AWMS and five others operated by ODNR all recorded the July 28 earthquake. The seismometers have not picked up any other earthquakes in 2014, only “blip” movements from quarrying or trucks hitting potholes, McCorkle said. Scientists can tell the difference fairly easily because of the short burst of movement from a “blip” compared to the longer length of an earthquake.

ODNR has not determined whether either Weathersfield earthquake is directly tied to the injection well, but it continues to receive and evaluate data, such as information from additional seismometers, to help with that determination, she said.

Read more about the situation in Saturday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.