Water Use in Fracking Steadily Increases, Says New Study

The water used for fracking in major shale gas and oil production regions has increased by 770% per well between 2011 and 2016, according to a study published in ScienceAdvances. The study, from researchers at Duke University’s Nicholas School of the Environment, additionally found that the water-use intensity (normalized to the energy production) also increased across all US shale basins.

Wastewater volumes increased by as much as 1,440%, according to the study.

“The steady increase of the water footprint of hydraulic fracturing with time implies that future unconventional oil and gas operations will require larger volumes of water for hydraulic fracturing, which will result in larger produced oil and gas wastewater volumes,” the authors wrote.

Specifically:

• The Marcellus region (Pennsylvania and West Virginia) saw a 20% increase in water use - the lowest of all the regions. The Permian Basin (Texas and New Mexico) had an increase in water use of 770%, the largest of the regions studied.
• The Bakker region uses the least water per well, while the Permian Basin uses the most.
• Only the Haynesville region saw water use per well decrease.
• Flowback and produced water generation (FP) also increased through time, with particularly higher rates after 2014. The Eagle Ford region saw a 610% increase in FP water in its oil-bearing section and a 1440% increase in the gas-bearing section. The smallest FP water increase was from the Niobrara region.

Overall, the study showed a “steady increase in hydraulic fracturing‘s water footprint, with 2014 and 2015 marking a turning point where water use and the generation of flowback and produced water began to increase at significantly higher rates,” says Avnet Vengosh, a co-author of the study (via Waste & Water Digest).

The high volume of water used in fracking is a top concern among those who oppose it, especially in semiarid regions, where water withdrawals for fracking have led to conflicts over water availability and have even contributed to groundwater resource depletion.

The authors also noted that the salts, toxins, organic matter and radioactive material in fracking-related wastewater pose a threat to drinking water supplies.

Compared to Other Energy Sources...

While previous studies have found that fracking does not use significantly more water than other energy sources, and that the water use for fracking is just a small percentage of the industrial water use in the US, the authors point out that only a fraction of the fresh water injected into the ground returns as flowback water. They also point out that FP water that does return to the surface is “highly saline, is difficult to treat, and is often disposed through deep injection wells.”

This means that, despite the fact that the water intensity (the amount of water used to produce a unit of energy) of fracking is lower compared to other energy resources, “the permanent loss of water use for hydraulic fracturing from the hydrosphere could outweigh its relatively lower water intensity.”