Groundwater: It's fracking important
Today marks the start of National Ground Water Awareness Week. If we're not careful, it could become National Ground Water Remembrance Week.
Groundwater: It’s fracking important
Today marks the start of National Ground Water Awareness Week—sandwiched between National Sleep Awareness Week and National Poison Prevention Week.
While such designations have perhaps become too ubiquitous in public health, this year’s National Ground Water Awareness Week may be the most important in its 13-year history.
Clean, safe, ground water is essential for public health. In fact, it’s essential to life and civilization as we know it. Ground water is water that exists between soil and rock underneath the earth. Seventy-eight percent of public water systems in the United States use ground water as their primary source, supplying about 90 million Americans. Ground water also quenches the thirst and washes the dishes of the 16 million households in the U.S. who get their water from private wells.
The contamination of groundwater through industrial and consumer pollution has long been a public health concern. The recent proliferation of hydraulic fracturing to extract natural gas, however, has opened a Pandora’s box of ground water contamination risk.
The fracking process involves pumping large amounts of fluid containing highly toxic chemicals deep into the earth, right below the water table (as the Marcellus Shale Coalition, a pro-fracking group, shows on its website).
As we have discussed in a series of earlier posts, and as the American Public Health Association noted this month in The Nation’s Health, its monthly news publication, hydraulic fracturing poses serious risks to the safety of our ground water supply—and to the vitality of humans and animals. More and more, we are seeing that these risks are not hypothetical but real.
Last year, the Environmental Protection Agency implicated hydraulic fracking as a cause of contaminated ground water in Pavillion, Wyo., corroborating work by Duke University researchers who found that well water was contaminated by fracking. Earlier this winter, the issue struck home as the EPA stepped in to deliver drinking water to residents of Dimock, Pa., whose well water was suspected to be contaminated by fracking chemicals.
Our desire for national energy independence should not, and cannot, trump our need for a safe groundwater supply. If we’re not careful, National Ground Water Awareness week could become National Ground Water Remembrance Week.
Read more about The Public's Health.
National Ground Water Awareness Week??? hahahaha....somebody get me the "w" file, so I can file this under "who gives a s**t"!— kelprod2- fracking has no regulation, is causing earthquakes in Ohio. but i'm sure it will be ok. republicans would never do anything that is not in the public's interest. right?
- Fracking is also the second shooter on the Grassy Knoll.— Another_1
- sure, why have natural gas at $0.12 a gallon when we can have oil and gasoline at $5.00 a gallon? let's make all the middle east countries rich while the US has such poor unemployment. Let all the people with money in the US give it to the poor people.— Justicek
- There is no proof that fracking had anything to do with those earthquakes. Besides, they were minor and there was no damage to people or property.— Phishface
- fracking also caused the tidle waves in Thialand and fracking elected George Bush. Fracking was also the 1961 oscar winner for best supporting actor. I also have a source that told me fracking was once secretly married to Marilyn Monroe. also, see Another's comment above.— Justicek
- So, most groundwater sources are around 200ft below the surface. Fracking occurs 2- 3 MILES below the surface. For those of you too concerned about spreading falsehoods to pay attention in math class, that is 10,000 to 15,000 feet below. The fracking pools are separated from the water table by solid rock. If there is any contamination from drilling, lets blame pre-fracking wells in PA. After all, we have been drilling for natural gas in PA for over 50 years. Lots of wells built before regulation.— jim obrien
- Those facts about groundwater and drilling depth are true.
However, that does not change the fact that they must drill right through the groundwater depths.
It also does not change the fact that the fracking fluid does not stay under the rock - much of it returns to the surface as flowback.
Unless you're trying to tell me that casing never fails, it is totally possible to pollute groundwater.— joeronimo - The author of this article obviously doesn't know a thing about Hydraulic Fracturing or a single thing about rock mechanics. If you view the Marcellus Shale Coalition video, it doesn't say a thing about Hydraulic Fracturing "right below the water table". It says surface pipe is set below the water table and cemented in to PROTECT the acquifer. This is just another scare tactic by people who don't know a thing about drilling and completing horizontal shale wells.— charlied612
- Gasland on HBO was pretty convincing. but i'm sure you know all the reason why it is wrong.
When the power shifts away from big oil and the water that was the purest in the world is turned into cancer stew the lawsuits will finally drive out the Texas Oil Cartel from America, they just go to their real home in Saudi Arabia and Dubai.- No time like the present to get back to basics!— barrylier
