![]() ![]() In the West Texas Permian Basin, where water use for fracking is forecast to double by 2020, more than 70% of the wells are in extreme water stress areas. In addition, the study said the Eagle Ford region of South Texas, which meets an estimated 90% of its water demand from groundwater, is experiencing groundwater depletion challenges. Per-well water use was also high, averaging more than 4.4 million gallons. The report found that the South Texas Eagle Ford Shale used the most fracking water of any US shale play, 19.2 billion gallons. "All of this comes as over two-thirds of Texas continues to experience drought conditions, key groundwater aquifers are under stress and the state's population is growing." "Texas is ground zero for water sourcing risks due to intense shale energy production in recent years and a projected doubling of hydraulic fracturing-related water use over the next decade," the report found. An area under extremely high water stress is one in which more than 80% of available surface and groundwater is already allocated for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses, according to WRI. The study also found that almost half of the wells hydraulically fractured since 2011 were in regions with high or extremely high water stress. NEARLY HALF OF FRACKED WELLS IN AREAS OF HIGH WATER 'STRESS' ![]() Of more than 250 energy companies reporting to FracFocus, Chesapeake reported the largest amount of water use, nearly 12 billion gallons, followed by EOG Resources, ExxonMobil subsidiary XTO Energy and Anadarko Petroleum.Īmong service companies, Halliburton handled the largest volume of fracking water overall, nearly 25 billion gallons - more than a quarter of the US total - followed by Schlumberger and Baker Hughes. In addition, the report found that more than 36% of the wells in the study overlay regions experiencing groundwater depletion.Īfter Texas, the top states for water used in fracking are Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Colorado and North Dakota. More than 55% of the fracked wells studied were in areas experiencing drought. The research, based on well data available at and water stress indicator maps developed by the World Resources Institute, evaluates the energy industry's water use in eight US and Canadian regions with both intense shale energy development and the most pronounced water stress challenges. There needs to be more thought as to how to minimize those really intense local impacts," Freyman said. "A lot of the drilling is taking place in two or three counties in a play and a lot of the water is sourced from groundwater in some regions. She added that while water use for drilling and fracking might only account for a small percentage of total consumption on a state-wide level - typically about 1% to 2% - local impacts of oil and gas operations could be much more significant. "We worry, not so much that the industry will not be able to source the water, but that it will face increasing competitive pressure from other end-users," she said. In an interview Thursday, Monika Freyman, the study's author, said competition for water is expected to grow in many of these areas as both populations and levels of oil and gas development increase. Ceres describes itself as a non-profit organization that advocates for sustainable business practices. The study, which looks at 39,294 wells fracked between January 2011 through May 2013, found that 97 billion gallons of water were used, nearly half of it in semi-arid Texas. Receive daily email alerts, subscriber notes & personalize your experience. ![]()
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