It’s reasonable that people living near Marcellus Shale gas drilling sites would be concerned about their water supplies. After all, industrial operations are, by their nature, disruptive.
It’s important, then, that research be conducted to help determine the impact—or lack thereof—the drilling has on, among other things, our water supplies.
The latest research comes from the University of Texas Energy Institute. The study was released at a meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in Vancouver, British Columbia.
The study found that fracking—the process where a solution of water and chemicals is forced down the borehole at high pressure to release the gas—does not impact groundwater.
“There is at present little or no evidence of groundwater contamination from hydraulic fracturing of shales at normal depths. No evidence of chemicals from hydraulic fracturing fluid has been found in aquifers as a result of fracturing operations,” the report said.
(The report did include a footnote reference to a possible contamination in the Pavilion, Wyoming area where the fracturing was done at “depths shallower than normal gas wells, which are typically more than 2,000 or 3,000 feet deep.”)
That’s not to say, however, that Marcellus Shale drilling presents no risk to water supplies.
For example, the report says, it is possible undiluted chemicals stored on the surface would spill and get into the groundwater. Additionally, “casing failures or poor cement jobs” could cause a leak into groundwater.
Fortunately, the state of West Virginia has regulations in place addressing both above ground chemical storage as well as spill containment and specifications for well casing integrity that should dramatically reduce the pollution risk.
Also, the report looked into complaints that hydraulic fracturing is contaminating water wells. Most of those complaints focus on claims of methane seeping into wells and the taste, color and smell of the well water being affected.
The study’s findings here are somewhat less conclusive because often there hasn’t been enough baseline reporting to determine whether well water quality changed after drilling began.
Still, the report says, “Such naturally-occurring methane in water wells has been a problem in shale gas areas for many years or decades before shale gas drilling began.” But it is possible in some cases that the industrial activity (vibrations and pressure pulses) “disturb the wells,” causing increased turbidity and a release of odors.
The findings are similar to those of a Penn State study released late last year. They found no significant changes in water quality in 233 wells near Marcellus Shale drilling sites in 20 Pennsylvania counties.
That’s a critical step as West Virginia and the rest of the country move forward with this valuable resource.