Over the last decade, horizontal hydraulic fracturing of the Marcellus shale bed which expands across portions Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia has become a heated issue. This unit of sedimentary rock is estimated to contain up to 500 trillion cubic feet of natural gas which would be able to power the United States for decades. In order to extract the natural gas, a well is drilled 5,000 to 9,000 feet vertically and then up to 10,000 feet horizontally. The well is then encased by a steel pipe and cement in order to prevent natural gas and flowback from entering the groundwater supply. Once the drilling is completed, three to five million gallons of water, per frack, are injected into the well at high pressure to fracture the shale and allows the natural gas to flow back up the well to the surface. The frack water that is injected into the well contains sand and other proppants which help with the fracturing of the shale. Only about 30% of this frack water returns to the surface. The purpose of this research was to analyze surface water that was collected near hydraulic fracturing sites in Butler County, Pennsylvania for contamination as a direct result of drilling. The samples that were collected were tested with the use of a handheld multipaparmeter meter, Ion Chromatography, Gas Chromatography Headspace, Atomic Absorption Spectroscopy and other techniques. The research showed that there is no significant surface water contamination as a direct result of the hydraulic fracturing process. However, contamination is likely to occur from negligence, such as inadequate water disposal and surface spills. Continued monitoring of water quality over time is crucial to fully observe and determine the environmental impact of horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

Monitoring the long term effects of fracturing in Western Pennsylavnia, Butler County: How long is long enough?

249th National Meeting (2015)

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