A recent study indicated that hydraulic fracturing - or fracking as it is more commonly known - likely does not have any negative effect on drinking water quality.

The process of fracking sees millions of gallons of water mixed with sand and chemicals shot down wells drilled thousands of feet down into the earth. This liquid cracks shale rock and allows natural gas to come to the surface. While this process has led to a boom in natural gas production in the U.S. some have said that the process has affected water quality. In addition, there has been much discussion about the impact treatment of this fracking wastewater has on communities and water treatment plants.

However, a new study from the University of Texas suggests that these fears may be overstated.

Researchers on the study found that most instances of contamination were at the surface or just below it and don't differ from what would typically be seen at many other natural gas extraction sites. In addition, some of the contamination came from the mishandling of wastewater.

"The bottom line was, in the areas we investigated... we found no direct evidence that hydraulic fracturing itself was contaminating groundwater," Charles Groat, professor of geology at the University of Texas, told Inside Science News Service.
Specifically the study examined sites in North Texas' Barnett Shale, the Marcellus Shale in New York and Appalachia and the Haynesville Shale in Louisiana and northeast Texas.

The finding of the study comes slightly more than two months after an Environmental Protection Agency draft analysis linked fracking activity to ground water contamination in Wyoming. The draft report found substances in the aquifer in Pavillion, Wyoming that were associated with the oil and gas industry.

However, industry advocates said that the analysis was unfair as there were a number of issues with the Pavillion site that made it unique. One of their specific complaints was that the wells in question were much more shallow than was typical; virtually all fracking activity takes place at least half a mile below the surface, while the fracking fluid migration alleged in the report was less than 200 meters.

Regardless of the findings of the University of Texas study, properly performing fracking operations is important to ensure that the activity does not affect water. In addition, it is important that the industry handles its wastewater properly. Often times such liquid undergoes aluminum sulfate water treatment to ensure it does not harm the environment.

Posted on February 21st, 2012 under Construction and Oilfields, Industrial Uses, Wastewater News