Marcellus Shale Drilling
by Beaver Run Reservoir

BEAVER RUN RESERVOIR

Although fishing has been banned at Beaver Run Reservoir since 1952, the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County (MAWC) decided to allow Marcellus Shale gas well drilling on their property next to this 1,300 acre lake in Salem, Bell and Washington townships.

The lake provides water to 150,000 people in northern Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania. Three horizontal wells are being drilled by CNX Energy in 2010 over the objections of some residents who are concerned about their water quality being affected. There was a spill at Cross Creek Lake, a fishing lake at a county park in western Pennsylvania in 2009.

The authority responded to resident's concerns with this statement, "MAWC will be very vigilant in the protection of our source of supplies from any contamination." Furthermore, these projects would "…improve the overall financial condition of the MAWC and thus benefit ratepayers."

Two Marcellus drilling sites can be seen in the photo above, one toward the top left edge of the photo and the other toward the middle.

CNX Gas drilling site next to the 1,300 acre Beaver Run Reservoir owned by the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County

Marcellus Shale drilling in progress

Sun reflects off a black pit liner at the drilling site. For some reason, the largest impoundment dam doesn't have a liner.

Impoundements at a Marcellus Shale drilling site

These new gas wells at Beaver Run Reservoir will be approximately 7,000 deep with 2,000 foot horizontals through the Marcellus Shale layer

Drilling site overlooks the reservoir that provides drinking water to 150,000 customers in Westmoreland County near Pittsburgh, Pa

"Special consideration should be give to well operations that occur in proximity to water bodies (natural or man-made) that are utilized for drinking water (e.g. reservoirs and lakes) where even on individual adverse impact can have tremendous, perhaps irreparable, economic and social cost. Concepts used in other regulatory programs such as the Surfac Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act, where areas are deemed unsuitable of extraction when in proximity to large scale water supplies, may be appropriate for oil and gas controls. Further, Drinking Water Suppliers should specifically be given notice and opportunity to comment on any proposed permit plan or application within a certain distance of identified storage or source areas."

Pre-Permitting and Site Assessment Considerations
Developing the Marcellus Shale
Pennsylvania Environmental Council
2010

A second CNX site near the reservoir with two impoundment dams. One impoundment dam is lined, while the the other is not.

The initial drilling is being done with a smaller drilling rig prior to a larger rig being brought in for the final horizontal drilling phase.

Production pit full of 'Mr Yuk' flowback.

UPDATES

IUP students to test Beaver Run Reservoir for drilling problems
JUNE 1, 2011 - Indiana University of Pennsylvania students will begin collecting samples today from the Beaver Run Reservoir to determine whether Marcellus shale deep-well drilling has affected the drinking water supply. Full story

More drilling set around Beaver Run reservoir
OCT. 16, 2010 - Consol Energy plans to drill eight more Marcellus shale natural gas wells near the Municipal Authority of Westmoreland County's water treatment plant at Beaver Run reservoir in Washington Township. That means Consol will have roughly 60 gas wells — Marcellus and the more common shallow-drill — surrounding Beaver Run Dam by 2012. Full story

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Marcellus Shale Drilling by Beaver Run Reservoir

Marcellus Shale Drilling
by Beaver Run Reservoir