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Fracking and Clean Water Threats
January 30, 2012 | Clean Water, Fracking, Water Supply
Amy Souers Kober
Senior Director of Communications
All Americans deserve clean water. So it’s heartening to see People magazine covering one of the leading threats to our rivers and clean water supplies – fracking.
Living with Fracking | People Magazine
The natural gas drilling technique known as fracking is a hot topic, highlighted by President Obama in the State of the Union address.
At American Rivers, we are alarmed by the threat fracking poses to our drinking water supplies and the health of our rivers and streams. For the past two years, we highlighted natural gas drilling as the leading threat to America’s Most Endangered Rivers®.
The February 6 issue of People introduces us to a family in Pennsylvania whose tap water catches on fire, drawing links to fracking and exploring the controversy.
Learn more about fracking and our rivers, and take action to protect clean water.
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Comment Policy: Our goal is to provide a forum for sharing and interacting with others about issues that are affecting our rivers and our clean water. All comments offered in the spirit of civil conversation are welcome! Commercial spam, obscenity and other rude behavior are not, and will be removed.
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Comments List
Submitted by American Rivers at: May 1, 2012
In addition to the chemicals that can't be removed, including some radioactive elements, when water is used for fracking, it’s taken out of the hydrological cycle, never used again. So in addition to contamination, you deplete the water supply. It's not able to go back into the water table. You can read more about it here: http://protectingourwaters.wordpress.com/2012/03/04/the-coloradoan-reports-fracking-depletes-water-supply/
Submitted by Yvonne at: April 30, 2012
I read your article along with articles of other institutions. What I have learned is that the water used in fracking is pumped back out, taken to recycle facilities and used again. Where is the huge danger
Submitted by Gail Kelly at: February 16, 2012
I can live without gas but I can not live without water!!!!
Submitted by Jessie Thomas-Blate at: February 7, 2012
When a natural gas well is hydraulically fractured, they pump millions of gallons of water, sand, and chemicals down into the wellbore. When a portion of that water and chemicals comes back to the surface, that is called flowback water. Also flowing out of the well will be produced water, which is water that was already down in the formation, is very salty, and contains material present in the formation, such as radioactive elements. The flowback water comes up first, followed by the produced water. All of this water is not able to be treated by traditional wastewater treatment plants. Currently, the most viable pathways for disposal are recycling or underground injection. However, underground injection wells are not available in all areas due to differences in geology. Some companies are trying to find ways to treat the wastewater to drinking water standards, but that is a work in progress.
Submitted by Fred Stevens at: February 6, 2012
My first reaction to this article is- what are we doing. this is our drinking water for God's sake. You mention the "back flow" of fluids that the corporations minimize. Could you tell me/us more about what you do with back flow once it flows back? Is it a treatable waste water like sewage?