Using fresh water for fracturing’s been a big topic among environmentalists and the general public. It’s no secret that wells use large amounts of water (2-3 million gallons per well) to frack the shale gas deep below the surface.

What’s the problem?

What’s worrisome is many wells are using fresh and potable water to pump into the earth. The water is then either cleaned or disposed of in deep-injection wells. In other words, wells can take otherwise useable water and turn it into something that’s expensive to treat or simply pumped into the ground.

A possible solution

Using fresh water for fracturing wells may soon be a thing of the past, according to Forbes.com.

Pennsylvania’s Department of Environmental Protection is looking into using Mine Influenced Water (MIW) for drilling. MIW is water that’s been contaminated from old mining operations.

Read it:

“MIW is a huge legacy problem from the mining industry. MIW includes either water contained in a mine pool or a surface discharge of water caused by mining activities and is known by many names: mine drainage water (MDW), acid mine drainage (AMD) or acid rock drainage (ARD).”

Unfortunately (or fortunately depending on how you look at it), Pennsylvania has an abundance of MIW, largely due to Pennsylvania’s abandoned coal mines.

Red tape

Though using MIW seems good for the companies and the environment, it’s not entirely without liability. Companies transporting and using the water could incur long-term liability, a chance many companies aren’t willing to take.

For the whole story, visit Forbes.com.

» Via: Forbes.com › Fracking With Bad Water