Environmental Impact of Shale Gas: Does Fracking Help to Save Water?

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Despite the reduced water consumption per gas volume, the challenge is immense: The study shows the total amount of wastewater from natural gas production in the region has increased by about 570 percent since 2004 as a result of increased shale gas production there.

"It's a double-edged sword," Lutz said. "On one hand, shale gas production generates less wastewater per unit. On the other hand, because of the massive size of the Marcellus resource, the overall volume of water that now has to be transported and treated is immense. It threatens to overwhelm the region's wastewater-disposal infrastructure capacity." – Not to mention the amount of process chemicals used to access the subterranean unconventional gas resources.

The Reality: Significant Tradeoffs and Environmental Impacts

"This is the reality of increasing domestic natural gas production," said Martin Doyle, professor of river science at Duke's Nicholas School of the Environment. "There are significant tradeoffs and environmental impacts whether you rely on conventional gas or shale gas."

The researchers analyzed gas production and wastewater generation for 2,189 gas wells in Pennsylvania, using publicly available data reported by industry to the state's Department of Environmental Protection, in compliance with state law.

Shale Gas Raises Concerns of Groundwater Pollution

In hydraulic fracturing, large volumes of water, sand and chemicals are injected deep underground into gas wells at high pressure to crack open shale rock and extract its embedded natural gas. As the pace of shale gas production grows, so too have concerns about groundwater contamination and what to do with all the wastewater. Now, the results of the new reserach in the Marcellus basin may have put the focus on an often overlooked by–product of gas frackturing: Brine. Discover more on page 3!

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