In harm’s way in USA: About half of hydraulically fractured wells exist within 2 to 3 kilometers of domestic groundwater systems. In Alberta, companies frac within 100 metres of water wells, and regulators let them frac more wells above Base of Groundwater Protection nearby even after causing community-wide drinking water contamination

In harm’s way: About half of hydraulically fractured wells exist within 2 to 3 kilometers of domestic groundwater systems by Julie Cohen, University of California, November 27, 2017, Science Daily

Summary:
About half of hydraulically fractured wells exist within 2 to 3 kilometers of domestic groundwater systems, warn researchers. 

How safe is the water you drink? For the 45 million Americans who get their drinking water from private groundwater wells rather than a public utility, the answer is decidedly murky. The Environmental Protection Agency regulations that protect public drinking water systems don’t apply to privately owned wells, leaving owners responsible for ensuring their water is safe from contaminants.

In assessing how frequently hydraulic fracturing takes place close to a public water supply, a 2016 EPA report said that drinking water supplies located near hydraulic fracturing sites are more likely to be impacted should a contamination event occur. How many privately owned groundwater wells could face a similar fate is undetermined.

Motivated by the EPA study, UC Santa Barbara researchers Scott Jasechko and Debra Perrone sought to change that.

The investigators amassed a large database of private drinking water wells and compared their locations to hydraulic fracturing sites. Conducting a scientific analysis of data that spanned 15 years, from 2000 to 2014, and covered nearly 27,000 wells in 14 states, they found that about half of all hydraulically fractured wells stimulated in 2014 existed within 2 to 3 kilometers of a domestic groundwater well. Their results appear in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

“This co-location emphasizes the need to determine the frequency that hydraulic fracturing activities impact groundwater well water quality. This knowledge is important to maintaining high-quality water in many domestic wells,” said co-author Jasechko, an assistant professor at UCSB’s Bren School of Environmental Science & Management. “Our results underscore the importance of increased water monitoring efforts near both hydraulically fractured and conventional oil and gas wells in ascertaining the risk of contamination and in protecting water well quality.”

Jasechko and Perrone charted the data on a variety of maps, one of which tracked hotspots. “These hotspots are areas where, in light of potential contamination mechanisms, limited resources for assessing spill frequency and well integrity could be used more effectively and efficiently,” explained Perrone, an assistant professor in UCSB’s environmental studies program.

Perrone noted that some hotspot areas include not only hydraulically fractured but also conventional oil and gas wells, which are more abundant. “We can use these hotspot analyses to focus resources, so that we can learn more about oil and gas contamination mechanisms: How often do they occur, and do they have an impact on groundwater?” she said.

“Our analysis underscores the need to increase monitoring efforts to maximize the probability that we can identify well waters that may be impacted, and do our best to remediate, contain and isolate potentially contaminated waters before they cause harm,” Jasechko added. “We can consider stronger policies that include requirements for repeated groundwater quality testing of the many domestic self-supply wells that exist close to hydraulic fracturing.”

Often, research can be limited by the amount of data available. In this case, the problem is a lack of consistent data across states as well as across industries. In fact, the scientists found vast differences in how states collect groundwater data.

“One policy recommendation would be to have a national standard for data collection on groundwater well construction,” Perrone said. “On the energy side, a national standard for data collection for both unconventional and conventional oil and gas wells could provide opportunities for increased transparency across jurisdictional boundaries.”

Complete Paper

Scott Jasechko, Debra Perrone. Hydraulic fracturing near domestic groundwater wellsProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2017; 201701682 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1701682114

Abstract
Hydraulic fracturing operations are generating considerable discussion about their potential to contaminate aquifers tapped by domestic groundwater wells. Groundwater wells located closer to hydraulically fractured wells are more likely to be exposed to contaminants derived from on-site spills and well-bore failures, should they occur. Nevertheless, the proximity of hydraulic fracturing operations to domestic groundwater wells is unknown. Here, we analyze the distance between domestic groundwater wells (public and self-supply) constructed between 2000 and 2014 and hydraulically fractured wells stimulated in 2014 in 14 states. We show that 37% of all recorded hydraulically fractured wells stimulated during 2014 exist within 2 km of at least one recently constructed (2000–2014) domestic groundwater well. Furthermore, we identify 11 counties where most (>>50%) recorded domestic groundwater wells exist within 2 km of one or more hydraulically fractured wells stimulated during 2014. Our findings suggest that understanding how frequently hydraulic fracturing operations impact groundwater quality is of widespread importance to drinking water safety in many areas where hydraulic fracturing is common. We also identify 236 counties where most recorded domestic groundwater wells exist within 2 km of one or more recorded oil and gas wells producing during 2014. Our analysis identifies hotspots where both conventional and unconventional oil and gas wells frequently exist near recorded domestic groundwater wells that may be targeted for further water-quality monitoring. [Emphasis added]

[In Alberta, companies frac within 100 metres of citizen and community drinking water wells, and some continue to frac repeatedly in fresh water zones even after their fracturing caused community-wide drinking water contamination with regulators looking the other way, or breaking the law to enable the harm]

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