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Google News Headlines
Current Gas Drilling News

Bob's Blog

Our Chunky Fracking Water

December 23, 2008 - Some Pittsburgher's never liked the taste of our Mon River drinking water. Maybe drinking it for nearly 6 decades desensitized me, but this fall I agreed with them, our water was PUTRID! Officials said our drinking (..and bathing, washing, and cleaning) water had become “chunky.”
  

Towboat on the Mon River near Monongahela, Pa.
The Mon River joins with the Allegheny River at
Pittsburgh Pa to form the Ohio River.

The explanation goes like this… the late summer and early fall drought here in Pittsburgh caused low river flow. That’s true, because I don’t recall a drier fall growing season in decades, and a “drought watch” was issued for 29 central and western Pennsylvania counties on November 7th. OK, but where does the “chunky” part come from?
  
TDS, or total dissolved solids in our drinking water were blamed for its chunky state. But water company officials were quick to tell us that even though it may spot glasses in your dishwasher, there is nothing to worry about -- the water is safe to drink. Sure, if you can get past drinking something tasting nearly as bad as the prep for your last colonoscopy!
  

Marcellus Shale Brine Pit
Recovered frac fluid and brine are stored in plastic lined pits

Turns out some of the low river flow, and much of the TDS chunkiness, resulted from the Marcellus Shale gas boom. Unless you have been sleeping, or residing on Mars for the past year, you know about this madhatter gas drilling boom that’s going on, with the epicenter in Hickory, Pennsylvania. Estimates indicate the Marcellus Shale holds enough gas to supply the entire US for 14 years, so main players ante up like it’s the California Gold Rush.
  

Water is pumped out of streams anytime, anywhere. This spot in front of the Washington County Fire Training Academy in Chartiers Township is very popular.

The Pennsylvania Clean Streams Law is supposed to protect drought- stricken streams from de-watering, but is this law being enforced?

  
Using a new drilling method that fractures the shale substrates deep in the earth, these gas ventures are able to extract huge amounts of natural gas. It’s pretty amazing to imagine drilling down a mile and then drilling sideways another ½ mile or more from there. But your wonder gives way to worry when you realize the environmental costs, both immediate and long term. This type of drilling requires millions of gallons of water for each well, mixed with secret chemical additives to assist in the drilling process.
  

If you find it worrisome these additives are being left in the ground, you definitely don’t want to hear that most of the reclaimed ‘salty cocktail mix’ is being only partially treated in our municipal sewage plants, instead of specialized plants that also take heavy metals and salt out of this wastewater. The only treatment is dilution with treated sewage before it gets dumped in the same rivers that me and 350,000 or more other people get our drinking water from. With a bold confidence that resembles the captain of the Titanic, we are told, “Don’t worry, you and the environment are safe. Drink the water!”
   

  
My interest was piqued enough by these recent events to do some internet research. If you want to follow my research trail just Google the keywords “fracking water.” It will bring on a déjà vu reminiscent of Love Canal and Agent Orange. Remember the Army officer who drank a glass of Agent Orange just to show it was safe? He’s probably sick or prematurely dead like so many of our other AO-exposed Vietnam veterans.
   

  
What I read about fracking water motivated me to contact all of my local legislators and ask them to make sure we aren’t moving too fast with all this drilling before we are fully aware of the consequences, or have answered all the questions. Why are these chemical processes exempt from the Safe Drinking Water Act? What gives them the right to draw massive amounts of water from streams and rivers, especially during a drought? Why doesn't Pennsylvania get a cut of gas drilling profits, like other states with a severance tax? Why don’t producers have to reveal exactly what is in drilling fluid formulas and wastewater?
Here’s an eye-opening introduction to the 50+ chemicals used in fracking fluids (Off site PDF - 277KB – “What’s in the fracking fluid?”)
  

   
There are lots of jokes about the funny effects of “something in the water,” hopefully we don’t become the butts of our own fracking joke. While fossil fuels often appear to be our most valuable natural resources, that distinction belongs to water. Nothing on the planet lives without it. We’re lucky to have an abundant water supply in western Pennsylvania, lets not frac it up!
    
Bob
  

2008 Annual Water Quality Report
Pittsburgh, McMurray, Mon-Valley
Source: Pennsylvania American Water

(Click image to enlarge report)

2009 Drinking Water Alert
Tri-County in Fredericktown, Pa - 6/19/09
[PDF version]
Tri-County Joint Municipal Authority has levels of Total Trihalomethanes (TTHMs) above Drinking Water Standards

Professional comments on the above water report:

"Not good at all.  Trihalomethanes (THM) can cause cancer, and some research has also linked it to miscarriages.  Very unusual to see a public drinking water system have an annual violation for this.  It’s a result of contaminants in the water reacting with the chlorine they add at the drinking water treatment plant.
  
I know that DEP and the Allegheny County Health Department are both aware that this is a potential problem that can happen when the drilling wastewater gets chlorinated and used for drinking water.  ...I don’t think anyone has reported an actual THM violation previously.
  
On the what people should do right now level – a Brita (carbon) filter will take out THM, I’m pretty sure.  But be aware that most of your exposure is from showering, not drinking the water.  The steam in your shower will cause the THM to gas off out of the water and into your lungs.  Important to make sure your bathroom is well ventilated."
  

  
Map of Washington County Watersheds

Pennsylvania DEP Summary of Hydraulic Fracture Solutions
Marcellus Shale - May 2009 (PDF 411KB)
  

Drill Baby, Drill!
Gas drilling rig near Hickory spewing rock dust everywhere..
a layer of dust covered the entire farm, inside and out!