Hydraulic fracturing of shale for gas has its own sets of issues
in each region of the United States. Some regions are short on water
but can easily get rid of wastewater. Other regions have lots of
water but no good way to get rid of the brine or "produced water." The second scenario
applies to Marcellus Shale gas drilling in Pennsylvania, and some early lessons
are being learned about the negative effects on drinking water sources.
Pennsylvania is considered to have an abundant supply of water,
especially around Pittsburgh. On the opposite end of the state,
Philadelphia tends to have more frequent summer droughts. The Allegheny River and
Monongahela River join at 'the Point' in Pittsburgh to form the Ohio
River. Until the past couple of years, when the amount of hydraulic fracturing
increased in Western Pennsylvania, water quantity was rarely an
issue.
Looking back
During the 20th century Pittsburgh rivers became polluted from
all the heavy industry present, while Pittsburgh became the Steel
City, and this water pollution included acid mine drainage due to a
very
active coal mining industry. During the 2005 Bassmaster fishing
event on Pittsburgh rivers it was reported how much cleaner the
rivers were than a decade or two ago. Anglers were favorably
impressed. Increased fish populations reflected these improvements
in the river water quality.
Acid mine drainage has brightly colored this stream south of Pittsburgh
One frac over the line
Environmental gains with Pittsburgh rivers have now started to
reverse themselves since Marcellus Shale drilling began. This change
became evident in 2008 as the hydraulic fracturing of wells began to
ramp up. The problem stems from two issues.
The first problem is the massive quantities of water needed to frac
each gas well, somewhere between 2 million and 6 million gallons.
This water can be taken from any stream, lake, river or watershed in
western Pennsylvania, since there is minimal regulation
regarding water usage. Pittsburgh sorely needs a river basin
commission that is more than just a figurehead like ORSANCO. This heavy drawing-off of water has had a significant impact on water
levels, even in a water rich environment. Major problems began during the dry
summer and fall seasons that Pittsburgh experienced in 2008.
| 3 Residual
Waste tankers pumping water from the stream in front of
the Washington County Firefighter Academy for a frac job
at the intersection of Lynn Portal Road and West Buffalo
Road. |
 |
| The water level
in the stream they are pumping from is running low due a
rainfall deficiency of
over 3-inches in the Pittsburgh area. July 11, 2009
photo |
The second problem is the continuing flow of acid mine drainage,
wildcat sewers, and other sources of contamination flowing into
Pittsburgh area waterways. Add to that all the gas drilling
wastewater that has been getting trucked to any waste treatment
plant that would accept it. The wastewater was then being processed
with various degrees of wastewater
treatment before getting dumped back in area waterways. All of these
sources (gas drilling wastewater, acid mine drainage, wildcat sewage
flow) contribute to a high TDS (total dissolved solids) level.
The bad marriage
When you lower river flow and increase TDS levels.... BINGO!
The serious problems begin. Gas drilling companies are contributing
to the problem on two levels,
and it has become the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
Whatever fragile balance that existed with Pittsburgh river water in
the past has now been skewed by the increased drilling and
hydrofracing of horizontal
wells.
Then they drink that water?
Did we forget to mention how many people around Pittsburgh get
their drinking water from the rivers? The Monongahela River ("Mon") provides most of the
area's drinking water to a large population of
residents. There were very few problems with water companies
providing drinking water within safety standards from Pittsburgh rivers until
recently. Thank the new gas drilling activities. These operations are such water
hogs!
Then drilling companies add frac fluids (...that's the another dark underbelly of
this industry) pump the mix deep underground, take a good portion back
out of the ground with high salt content, and put it back into the waterways.
What this adds to drinking water sources doesn't even
account for invariable run-off from well sites, accidents and spills.
And who's to say
some of the unprocessed stuff isn't getting 'the midnight dump' on
local roads or into
local streams?
The Monongahela River in Pittsburgh is known as "The Mon"
Getting up to speed
As drinking water started to go bad around Pittsburgh, there were
some quick knee-jerk reactions. Some waste treatment plants that
didn't have the proper facilities to process this industrial grade
wastewater (consisting of a salty high brine content, frac fluids and
heavy metals, just to name a few) were told they could no longer accept any produced
water. This news really hurt the bottom line of some waste plants
going through
tough financial times, since several plants were reaping the
financial rewards of treating additional wastewater. (There are at least
20 new wastewater plants in the planning stage for Pennsylvania).
In early 2009, the Pennsylvania DEP announced the installation of a
new network of river monitors that would alert them to high-TDS
levels. If the DEP can't control it at its source, why not monitor it and write a
report on it? We'll see what this new program actually ends up
accomplishing. At least it will raise public awareness of the
problem which may eventually lead to reforms in the existing bad
practices.
As Yogi said, "it's Deja Vu
all over again"
We've now seen our first case of gas drilling creating a problem
with drinking water
in 2009, and it's just the beginning of summer, when tap water
demands increase. On June 19th, the Tri-County Joint Municipal
Authority alerted their 3,300 water customers to high levels of TTHMs (total trihalomethanes) in their tap water. Below is a
copy of
that letter:
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