| inbluevt | Date: Monday, 2013/06/17, 9:22 AM | Message # 1 | DMCA |
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Messages: 1024
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As the level of hydraulic fracturing of oil and gas wells in the United States has intensified in recent years, much of the mounting
public concern has centered on fears that underground water supplies
could be contaminated with the toxic chemicals used in the
well-stimulation technique that cracks rock formations and releases
trapped oil and gas. But in some parts of the country, worries are also
growing about fracking’s effect on water supply, as the water-intensive
process stirs competition for the resources already stretched thin by
drought or other factors.
Every fracking job requires 2 million to 4 million gallons of water, according to the Groundwater Protection Council. The Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, has estimated that the 35,000 oil and gas wells used for fracking consume between 70
billion and 140 billion gallons of water each year. That’s about equal,
EPA says, to the water use in 40 to 80 cities with populations of 50,000
people, or one to two cities with a population of 2.5 million each.
Some of the most intensive oil and gas development in the nation is occurring in regions where water is already at a premium. A paper published last month by Ceres, a nonprofit that works on sustainability issues, looked at 25,000 shale oil and shale gas wells in operation and monitored by an industry-tied reporting website called FracFocus. Ceres found that 47 percent of these wells were in areas “with high or extremely high water stress” because of large withdrawals for use by industry, agriculture, and municipalities. In Colorado, for example, 92 percent of the wells were in extremely high water-stress areas, and in Texas more than half were in high or extremely high water-stress areas.
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Message edited by inbluevt - Monday, 2013/06/17, 9:23 AM |
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| Scorpone | Date: Monday, 2013/06/17, 10:03 PM | Message # 2 | DMCA |
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Group: Moderators
Messages: 133
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Wondering if these fricken frackers pay for this water..
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