Hydraulic Fracturing

Hydraulic Fracturing and Flammable Water

With cheap and local energy on everyone’s mind these days hydraulic fracturing is a hot topic. These operations allow gas companies to obtain natural gas in cheap and efficient manors that save local economies a lot of money. According to Brigham Young University of Law there would be no economically viable alternative to current fracking operations (Willie 1744). In Fort Worth, TX the city expects to receive “more than $1 billion in natural gas revenues over the next 20 years... Operations in the area will create 70,000 jobs and add $6.5 billion annually to the Texas economy” (Willie 1749). The law review also points out the extensive regulatory nature that certain states already have in place. In New York, for instance, they point out that the current regulations are "relatively comprehensive” (Willie 1763-1764).

The picture is not all-together rosy though. Regulatory power in the United States has left well-water in various locations throughout the country undrinkable, and even worse: flammable. Flammable drinking water is of great concern to those who live within the counties affected by hydraulic fracturing.

In order to use hydraulic fracturing to obtain natural gas from deep shale formations the company has to drill. Typically the company will use standard drilling techniques to drill down about one mile underground at which point they shift to horizontal drilling for another mile or two to reach the shale formation, which might only be a couple of hundred feet thick (Jackson). Once the shale has been penetrated the process involves pumping a water and sand mixture at extremely high pressures to crack open the shale (Jackson). The water generally contains about a half a percent to two percent chemical lubrication solution (Kerr 1625). The second step, involving pumping water at high pressure, is what the industry refers to as “fracking.”

Out of the four million gallons of water injected at the shale...