Hello all!
Last time we talked about the benefits fracking has to the economy, our environment, and the state of our energy independence. This week, I will examine the argument against fracking claiming that the chemicals used during fracking can leak into and contaminate nearby groundwater
Many of the biggest critics of fracking point to an infamous video of a woman in Colorado lighting her tap water on fire, claiming that its because of the recent fracking that took place nearby.
Light Your Water On Fire from Gas Drilling, Fracking
Although the woman was living close to a fracking site, it is impossible for any methane or any of the fracking chemicals to seep through the layers of rock separating the well from her water. In fact, it was later proven that the women’s well was drilled directly into a natural pocket of methane gas.
According to geologist Gary Lash of New York State University, the intervening layers of rock between possible fractures caused by drilling and nearby groundwater would prevent any fracking fluid from reaching and contaminating the groundwater. Expecting a fissure caused by fracking to extend several thousand feet upwards towards the surface would be like stacking 12 bricks on top of one another and expecting a crack in the bottom one to extend all the way to the top. In addition, the fracking fluid itself is much too dense to ascend upwards through any fissure in the rock.
Although there have been countless allegations that fracking fluids have been contaminating nearby groundwater, most of these have been proven false or inconclusive. In Pennsylvania, groundwater typically reaches a depth of up to 250 meters deep, while fracking takes place at depths of over 1,500 meters. Expecting fluid to reach the groundwater is geologically impossible, as modeled by the brick analogy earlier. However, in other places such as Wyoming, fracking takes place as shallow as 370 meters. It is much more conceivable that potential contamination could occur with a smaller distance between the groundwater and the fracking.
Recently, in Pavillion, Wyoming, high levels of chemicals linked to fracking have been found in the groundwater nearby. In Pavillion, only a few hundred feet separate the gas being extracted and the groundwater. If further testing confirms that the fracking fluid seeped directly into the groundwater, it may force companies to cease extracting shallow deposits of natural gas. This will not affect the much deeper Marcellus Shale located in Pennsylvania.
The true effect that fracking has on groundwater is still unknown, and it will require extensive testing to determine if fracking fluids are truly contaminating groundwater. If they are, companies in the natural gas industry will likely find a way to use different fracking chemicals that they prove will not contaminate the environment. The jury is still out on fracking, and its up to us engineers to solve the problems associated with this potential energy source.
***See “Natural Gas: A Natural Solution,” a persuasive paper written in CAS 138T, for further references.
Sources:
http://www.nature.com/news/is-fracking-behind-contamination-in-wyoming-groundwater-1.11543