Jul. 15--Part of the mystery has been solved, but not all of it.

David Neslin, director of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission told members of the commission that nearby gas wells have been replugged, and tests showed that methane gas was not to blame in flammable water in a Fort Lupton-area home.

The problem with Amee Ellsworth's home, about 10 miles northeast of Fort Lupton, started last fall when the tap water in her home would catch fire when a flame was held nearby.

The commission, meeting in Glenwood Springs on Tuesday, was brought up to date on the problem by Neslin, who said he would meet with residents to deliver a full report next month.

Ellsworth could not immediately be contacted Tuesday afternoon.

Weld County Commissioner Doug Rademacher said the commissioners met with the oil and gas group about a month ago and were told that an old, abandoned well had been discovered near the Ellsworth home.

"We were told that well maybe dated back to the 1940s. They didn't have the plugging techniques then that the industry does now, so that may have been the problem. But we were told it would take several months to test that well to see if it was the problem," Rademacher said.

He said he wasn't aware that drilling activity in the region had started that soon until he learned of the abandoned well, adding no drilling was conducted in southwest Weld, where he lives, until the 1970s.

Neslin said all the wells in a half-mile radius had been evaluated and determined that all of those operational wells are not the problem, but the source of the problem has yet to be determined.

"We don't believe there is a current leak or problem that endangers public safety," he said.

Neslin said the owner of the wells installed a water-treatment system on the water wells, and that should clear up problems that attracted national attention when tap water in nearby homes caught fire.

Anadarko Petroleum Corp. and Noble Energy Inc., which own gas wells near the home, also tested the wells and haven't found where the gas is coming from.

State health officials have said the levels of methane gas in the water aren't high enough to cause health problems.

Neslin said there is a history of naturally occurring methane in groundwater in Weld, but further studies may be needed to determine the source of the current problem.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

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