Fracking requires vast quantities of water, millions of gallons per well, which is stressing local water resources in areas like Texas, Colorado, Michigan and North Dakota, where farmers have been outbid for irrigation water and in some cases whole towns running dry. Continue reading
Fracking Trucks Line Up After Midnight To Collect Water From The Susquehanna River In Pennsylvania (Click To Enlarge)
North Dakota’s Salty Fracked Wells Drink More Water to Keep Oil Flowing (National Geographic, November 2013) Over the life of a Bakken Shale well more than three to four times the water required for the initial fracking will be used as ‘maintenance water’
A Texan tragedy: ample oil, no water (Guardian, August 2013) Fracking boom sucks away precious water from beneath the ground, leaving cattle dead, farms bone-dry and people thirsty
Fracking Creates Water Scarcity Issues in Michigan (EcoWatch, June 2013) The fracking operation for one well is using more water than the local town uses for all its needs over the same time period
Fracking Is Already Straining U.S. Water Supplies (Think Progress, June 2013) Fracking consumes between 70 billion and 140 billion gallons of water each year in the US, equal to the water use in 40 to 80 cities with populations of 50,000 people
Spread of Hydrofracking Could Strain Water Resources in West, Study Finds (New York Times, May 2013) The rapid expansion of fracking could put pressure on already-stressed water resources in Colorado, according to a new report
As Fracking Increases, So Do Fears About Water Supply (New York Times, March 2013) In some Texas counties the proportion of water used for fracking has reached the double digits and is growing along with the oil boom
Drought raising water costs, scarcity concerns for shale plays (Oil & Gas Journal, July 2012) The volume of water that the oil and gas industry uses for hydraulic fracturing in US shale plays, forcing drillers to pay higher prices and to seek alternate water sources
Fracking bidders top farmers at water auction (Denver Post, April 2012) At Colorado’s premier auction for unallocated water this spring, companies that provide water for hydraulic fracturing at well sites were top bidders on supplies once claimed exclusively by farmers