Our Water is Being Destroyed by Fracking ~ Consumed and/or Polluted!
More work needed to protect our streams & rivers in OH, WV & PA
Submitted by Leatra Harper, Food & Water Watch, Eastern Ohio Region, June 15, 2023
The fluctuations, the authors warn, could be negatively impacting aquatic life in those areas – a situation that, if confirmed by more studies and monitoring, would warrant additional environmental protection measures.
The multidisciplinary research, one of the first studies of its kind regarding fracking’s effects on smaller watershed levels in this particular region, was conducted by civil engineering major Brady Harmon; Lauren H. Logan, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Christopher Spiese, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and assistant dean for the College of Arts & Sciences; and Ryan Rahrig, Ph.D., associate professor of math and statistics.
Fracking requires significant amounts of water, combined with sand and chemical additives, pumped at high pressure to extract natural resources from subterranean shale formations. Extreme flow reductions in the studied streams occur infrequently and episodically, the researchers found, but “could have lasting negative impacts on the stream biota” and “have the potential to affect downstream users, including regionally-endangered species. The stream ecosystem might be severely impacted,” they report. The authors note that the smaller streams scrutinized, where most UOG (unconventional oil and gas) wells are located, “are much more susceptible to change than larger streams and rivers.”
Modeling revealed that 10% and 20% reductions occurred at least episodically in about half of the watersheds analyzed, amounting to 8.8% and 2.4% of active days. A consistent 9% or greater reduction in baseflow “could completely change the aquatic habit in smaller streams, and render spaces uninhabitable for many of the species which live there presently,” the study asserts.
UOG impacts on streamflow have mostly been studied in water-scarce regions such as Texas. The limited amount of such studies in water-rich areas have mostly focused on freshwater input quantities or production of flowback, the ONU study notes. For this latest research, government data itself was limited because of Ohio’s patchwork nature of water withdrawal regulations and noncomprehensive permitting requirements.
The results yielded some surprises for the researchers. Spiese said he was surprised at “how widespread the flow reductions were. Around half of the streams had significant reductions during fracking operations. I was also naively surprised at how difficult it was to find water source locations for well pad permits,” he added. “With the sheer scope of fracking operations in Ohio alone, it is almost impossible to actually track where the water is coming from specifically.”
Logan said fracking regulations are always a shock to her. “On the one hand, we have reporting requirements in place which provide us with vast datasets on water quality, quantity, and more in the United States. And on the other hand, we are severely lacking in fracking data in regions like Southeast Ohio,” she said. The requirements and permit tracking vary by state. In Ohio, laws and proposed legislation remain in flux and can be contradictory. For instance, House Bill 57 opens state lands, including state parks, to fracking, but Spiese said “several environmental groups recently sued the state to block this law going into effect until rules are established to regulate such leases.”
According to the American Oil & Gas Historical Society, the first commercial hydraulic fracturing of an oil well took place in 1949 in Oklahoma. Yet the drilling method didn’t substantially increase in Eastern Ohio’s portion of the Marcellus and Utica shale formations until about a decade ago. At that time, companies using the method predicted it would create an economic boom. Since then, the public has received it with mixed feelings, owing in large part to its underground and surface-level environmental impact, which studies like ONU’s are continuing to address.
In places like Guernsey County, evidence of fracking is pervasive, Spiese said. “Although it is sometimes billed as having a small footprint, wells are everywhere. Trucks carrying materials to and from the well pads fly down the roads. Gas pipelines and compressor stations poke up randomly all over the area,” he explained.
ONU’s study originated from Spiese’s water quality work with the American Geophysical Union’s program Thriving Earth Exchange (TEX). Spiese became the scientific lead on a project examining water quality and quantity issues in and around Cambridge, Ohio, which then expanded into Barnesville, Ohio and Southwestern Pennsylvania. Their team included Leatra Harper from FreshWater Accountability Project, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting freshwater resources. Working with the TEX team, “I eventually expanded the research to encompass the entire Ohio River basin that is underlain by shale formations,” Spiese said.
This story is part of a series on sustainability efforts and studies at Ohio Northern University.
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Alert to Concerned Citizens ~ We must protect our water being destroyed by fracking! Call your Ohio legislator and share please! Leatra Harper (6/15/23)