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Case Study Analysis of the Impacts of Water Acquisition for Hydraulic Fracturing on Local Water Availability
Citation:
Sullivan, Kate, Mike Cyterski, S. Kraemer, Chris Knightes, K. Price, K. Kim, L. Prieto, M. Gabriel, AND R. Sidle. Case Study Analysis of the Impacts of Water Acquisition for Hydraulic Fracturing on Local Water Availability. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC, EPA/600/R-14/179, 2015.
Impact/Purpose:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is conducting a study of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas on drinking water resources. This study was initiated in Fiscal Year 2010 when Congress urged the EPA to examine the relationship between hydraulic fracturing and drinking water resources in the United States. The EPA’s study will contribute to the understanding of the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing activities for oil and gas on drinking water resources and the factors that may influence those impacts. The study will help facilitate and inform dialogue among interested stakeholders, including Congress, other Federal agencies, states, tribal government, the international community, industry, nongovernmental organizations, academia, and the general public. This report, Case Study Analysis of the Impacts of Water Acquisition for Hydraulic Fracturing on Local Water Availability, is the product of one of the research projects conducted as part of the EPA’s study. It has undergone independent, external peer review in accordance with Agency policy and all of the peer review comments received were considered in the report’s development.
Description:
Hydraulic fracturing (HF) is used to develop unconventional gas reserves, but the technology requires large volumes of water, placing demands on local water resources and potentially creating conflict with other users and ecosystems. This study examines the balance between water supply and demand in two areas experiencing high rates of HF drilling activity by comparing the balance between water taken for HF at surface water sources relative to the volume available at local sites where water is acquired. The Susquehanna and Upper Colorado River basins differ in many factors that influence this balance, including available supply at water sources and consumptive demand reflecting the portfolio of users, state regulatory controls, and HF engineering practices dictated by the geologic formations under development in each. The potential for stress at water sources was identified and could be quantified in each area using the ratio of water taken to water available at each source. No localized stress attributable to HF was found in either basin. These similar findings were not because the water volumes required for hydraulic fracturing were insignificant at the state level as often reported, but rather because of critical differences in how the consumptive factors emerged locally in each area, including regulation, other users, and HF technology.
URLs/Downloads:
Case Study Analysis of the Impacts of Water Acquisition for Hydraulic Fracturing on Local Water Availability (PDF, NA pp, 26341 KB, about PDF)Water Acquisition Fact Sheet (PDF, NA pp, 106 KB, about PDF)
http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/hf_water_acquisition_report_final_6-2-15_508_km.pdf