Hydraulic fracturing has been used to stimulate production of oil and gas since the late 1940's throughout the U.S., including California. However over the last 5 years hydraulic fracturing has received a significant amount of negative press being driven in part by documentaries such as Gasland, and later Hollywood productions such as the Promised Land starring Matt Damon. Much of this negative press has focused on the potential impacts of hydraulic fracturing on surface water and groundwater resources.  Is there really a connection between hydraulic fracturing and groundwater contamination? Certainly the chemistry of some fracturing fluids can be a threat to groundwater quality if it is introduced into the drinking water supply, but is this possible or probable?  The fracturing fluid chemistry is often complex, consisting of hundreds of chemicals designed to serve a variety of purposes, including corrosion and scale inhibitors, biocides, thickening agents, friction reducers, pH adjustment, and borehole and well cleaning. Groundwater can potentially be impacted from a number of different processes including faulty well construction, improperly abandoned wells, fault zones, releases from surface impoundments, leaks and spills, stormwater runoff, chemical storage, and underground injection of flowback water.  This presentation explores fracturing fluid chemistry, the mechanisms by which hydraulic fracturing fluids could potentially impact water supplies, and discusses rules and regulations designed to monitor and protect the water supply.

Hydraulic fracturing and impacts to the water supply: Fact or fiction?

248th National Meeting (2014)

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