Aurora residents raise concerns about fracking near reservoir: 'just a matter of when these accidents are going to happen'

Kevin Chan has lived in Colorado for four months, and it was his neighborhood situated on the banks of the Aurora Reservoir that brought him here. 

"I saw how great it was the outdoors the reservoir the running the biking you know it just seemed like the perfect place," Chan said. 

Soon after moving in, he saw something on social media that he says threatens to ruin his dream life. 

"There was a post on our neighborhood Facebook page saying something about mineral rights but everybody was a little bit confused," said Chan. 

He did some research and learned Civitas, an oil and gas producer, wants to build a fracking project near the reservoir. 

"They want to pretty much draw a line of surface pads along the east side," Chan said. 

That is too close for Chan's comfort so he got active and created a Facebook page called Save the Aurora Reservoir. Now neighbors are working together to try to stop the project by making signs and making their voices known at all levels of local government.  

They are concerned about the air quality in their neighborhood, but also, they say if a leak ever happens, it could not only threaten their way of life but the drinking water for the entire city of Aurora. 

"I don't think that it should be this close to a neighborhood and our water," said Chan. 

In a statement to CBS News Colorado's Michael Abeyta, Civitas said the following:

"Civitas has a strong commitment to the communities where we operate and we meet or exceed the State's laws and regulations, which are among the strictest in the world. We continually safeguard our water supplies by utilizing redundant environmental protections, adhering to regulations, performing consistent monitoring, and through use of our own operational best management practices. In addition to this multitude of safeguards, it is important to note that more than a mile of impermeable rock will separate these wells from the Aurora Reservoir." 

For Chan and his neighbors, those promises aren't enough. 

"Accidents do happen. I do believe that it does. It's just a matter of when these accidents are going to happen, how big they are going to be," Chan said.