Most Comprehensive Appalachian Region Study Finds Water Quality Issues Long Before Fracking

A new study, which can boast of having one of the most comprehensive water quality datasets in the Appalachian basin prior to Marcellus and Utica shale development, was recently released in the journal, Applied Geochemistry.

The study, led by Don Siegel of Syracuse University, analyzed over 21,000 samples of groundwater collected by third party contractors from individual domestic or stock water-supply wells before Chesapeake Energy Corporation drilled nearby Marcellus and Utica shale oil and gas wells. According to the study’s summary:

“Our comparison of these results to historical groundwater data from NE Pennsylvania, which pre-dates most unconventional shale gas development, shows that the recent pre-drilling geochemical data is similar to historical data. We see no broad changes in variability of chemical quality in this large dataset to suggest any unusual salinization caused by possible release of produced waters from oil and gas operations, even after thousands of gas wells have been drilled among tens of thousands of domestic wells within the two areas studied.”

The study falls in line with previous studies from the United States Geological Survey (USGS), which also found major ions and metals in exceedance of federal drinking water standards in a majority of private water wells in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio prior to development. Of course, it also bolsters the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) comprehensive five year study, which found that “hydraulic fracturing activities have not led to widespread, systemic impacts to drinking water resources.” (by Joe Massaro, Energy In Depth)