GRANVILLE TWP. - Faced with methane in her well water, Shana Spencer of Granville Township was planning on buying bottled water for her family to use.

But she won't have to go to the grocery store for a while.

On Friday, Talisman Energy delivered 25 one-gallon jugs and five two-and a half gallon jugs of spring water to her house on High Bridge Road, she said.

Spencer, who lives 2,400 feet from Talisman's "Foust" gas well, believes that the methane that has been detected in her water is the result of some type of disturbance from gas well activity in the area. She's been seeking help from Talisman.

Although the company is helping Spencer, a Talisman spokesman earlier stated that Talisman believes there is no cause and effect relationship between its drilling operations in the Granville Summit area and the incidence of methane in Spencer's well water, however.

Filling up a container of water, Spencer can actually light it with a match, showing evidence of the methane in the water. Spencer said it fizzes - like alka seltzer.

After Spencer saw her water "spitting out" of the faucet on Nov. 16, 2009, she tried testing her water for methane after a local well driller suggested she try to light it. In December 2009, she filled a jug with water and then lit it - and a flame shot up.

"I didn't realize you could light your well water on fire," she said. She said she was shocked.

She said she will never drink her well water again, and she said her home has depreciated in value as a result of the methane in the water.

But Spencer said she is encouraged by Talisman's latest efforts. She said the company is acting like a "good neighbor."

In addition to the bottled water, Talisman is sending a local well driller to her house Wednesday to dig up her well, extend it above ground, and install a vent on it in an attempt to resolve the methane problem, she said.

She said the vent will release methane gas.

"I feel pretty good," she said of the company's response. "It's taken a while, but I'm happy they're listening."

When asked for comment, Mark Scheuerman, manager of government and media relations for Talisman, said, "We're continuing to work with her. We're just going to continue to do what is appropriate and helpful."

When asked for comment, Dan Spadoni, community relations coordinator with the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), said the "level of concern" regarding methane in water comes into play when there are about 28 parts per million. This is the "saturation level," he said.

He said the danger of methane in water is that it can ignite, causing a fire or an explosion. He also noted that certain geologic formations can cause methane to be in water.

It was Scheuerman who earlier said there is no "cause and effect" relationship between Talisman's drilling operations in the Granville Summit area and the incidence of methane in Spencer's well water.

Scheuerman said that testing was done on a sample of water from Spencer's well back on Dec. 16, 2008.

He said this was done at Spencer's request, even though her well wasn't within 1,000 feet of Talisman's "Foust" gas well. Scheuerman noted that Talisman, formerly Fortuna, has a policy of testing well water within 1,000 feet of a gas well.

According to Scheuerman, the testing showed methane in the water during that first test. The measurement was 67.4 parts per million of methane in the water.

More recently, on Feb. 1, testing showed that the methane had decreased, to 50 parts per million.

Another testing took place Saturday, but Talisman is still awaiting those results, he said.

He doesn't know the reason for the methane showing up.

"All we know is what our tests show, and there is actually a decrease over the time of our most intense activity with our well," he said.

Spencer countered, "I really do believe it is coming from a disturbance of the process of the well drilling." She also claims that Talisman didn't release her well test results from Dec. 16, 2008 for 13 months. She didn't get them until Jan. 25, 2010 she said. She was concerned over this.

Scheuerman also offered a clarification on an earlier report.

Previously, Scheuerman had said that the testing that was done on a sample of water from Spencer's well back on Dec. 16, 2008 was prior to any drilling activity by Talisman.

However, he has since clarified that the testing that took place prior to any drilling activity by Talisman was testing at other locations in the area around where the Foust well is located - not on Spencer's water well.

And he said that the testing at those other locations showed that methane was already present.

He further clarified that the Dec. 16, 2008 testing on Spencer's well, at her request, occurred after about three to four weeks after drilling activity took place at the Foust well. He said the activity consisted of "initial set-up and commencement of drilling operations in its initial stage."

He added that Spencer had initially contacted Talisman about her water being cloudy, and Talisman tested the water, and informed Spencer that she had a methane problem. But Spencer was concerned that it took 13 months to find out, she said.

As for DEP, Spadoni said that the agency did test a drinking water well in the Granville Township area on Jan. 20. He said it's not DEP policy to identify the name of complainants. He said they are kept strictly confidential as per DEP policy.

Spadoni couldn't confirm whether the well tested belonged to Spencer, due to the DEP policy.

He said the testing showed 40.4 parts per million of methane in the well water. Spencer said that this testing was on her well, however.

Based on available data, he said it can't be determined whether the methane in that well was caused by natural gas drilling activity.

He said DEP sent a letter to the complainant on Feb. 23 with its findings and also a recommendation that all drinking wells should be equipped with a working vent to vent out gases like methane and help them from being concentrated in an area where, if ignited, it would be a threat to life or property. Spencer said she received a letter like this in late February.

Spencer, meanwhile, thinks other people will have problems similar to hers in the future. She said those having anything unusual with the water need to call the DEP.

"Down the road, I think there's going to be a lot more issues."

Eric Hrin can be reached at (570) 297-5251; e-mail: reviewtroy@thedailyreview.com.