“There are allegations of contamination, but when you really drill down … most cases involve methane, and methane is common in groundwater in a lot of the nation – so there is not really hard evidence that this is a significant prob lem, fracking related to groundwater contamination.”


– Tim Parker, Groundwater Consultant


according to the Public Policy Institute of California.


The fracking in California differs from other parts in the country as it is used primarily to produce oil rather than natural gas; and as a result, the fracturing is done in one region, and very small fracturing when compared to the large multistage fractures that are done for natural gas production. Fracking of oil wells in California has been going on for at least 50 years. At the GRA symposium, speakers al- luded to the recent attention fracking has caused, but noted the practice has been in place for quite some time. “Hydraulic fracturing is not new,”


said Ed Pinero, executive vice president with Veolia Water North America in Chicago. “What is new is a much higher awareness and understanding by the public and the concern about the water resource.” Questions and concerns about fracking “started hitting [the ground- water community] pretty hard” in 2006 and 2007, said Tim Parker, a ground- water consultant and GRA member, in an interview. It is important for people to differ between the fracking of shale for


natural gas deposits and the fracking involved with “conventional deposits” of oil, which from a risk-based perspec- tive “is less risky though that’s not to say there’s no risk,” he said.


To more of the interview with Tim Parker


In 2011, the Groundwater Protec- tion Council and the Interstate Oil and Gas Compact Commission launched a website, www.FracFocus.org, that describes how fracking works, what chemicals are used, groundwater pro- tection, state regulations and features a searchable well database. “The public has a real urge to know what is going on,” said Mike Nickolaus, special projects director with the Ground- water Protection Council in Oklahoma City, Okla. “We are trying to get as much information out to the public as possible.”


Drinking water providers are aware of the water-energy nexus even as they


8


seek to safeguard their water supply from any contamination.


“It takes water to provide energy and energy to provide water,” said Shonnie Cline, senior account manager with the Water Research Foundation in Denver, Colo. “Drinking water utilities know they need reliable energy sources, but there are some concerns. Some- times you don’t know what you don’t know, which is why more information is needed.”


Acknowledging that fracking “is not something that’s going away,” Cline said there are areas of concern water utilities need to become more informed about.


“Water quality wise, it’s the drilling itself and the industrial activity that takes place near it can cause concern,” she said. “What is the spill response plan on each well site and what is the fate and impact of flowback water and produced waters?”


Find fracking wells in California on an interactive map, www.fracfocus.org


In fracking, flowback water is the portion that returns to the surface shortly after the injection occurs, its content ranging from 10 percent to 100 percent of the fracking fluid. As the water stays un- derground, its com-


position takes on the chemistry of the water in the formation and becomes produced water, which also returns. Much of the controversy about fracking stems from a concern that it is a secretive practice that is being con- ducted without the public’s knowledge, Parker said. “Let’s be candid with this, the oil and gas industry and the regulatory agencies really didn’t respond to the public and didn’t get out there with the appropriate information in a timely fashion, and that’s part of the problem we are dealing with,” he said. “Some people are freaking out – calling for immediate moratoriums on fracking. There are allegations of contamination, but when you really drill down … most cases involve methane, and methane is common in groundwater in a lot of the nation – so there is not really


Western Water


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