fracking waste water

Angle Iron · Dec 20, 2016

Why is the water simply wasted by dumping it deep in the earth? Why not reuse it on the next set of wells. Where does the water that is used now come from? Are water wells drilled and pumped on each oil/gas well site or hauled on for each from a remote site. It would seem to me from what we see and hear on news is that the fracking may not be the problem but the disposal of the water later is. Just would like to know if anyone has the answers to these questions. If its trucked in why not truck it to the next location. If it is too polluted to truck it elsewhere it should not be pumped underground. I am all for increased production nationally just curious about the disposal methods and why. Thanks

Brown Swiss · Dec 20, 2016

I don't have any real answers but understand each one takes 4 to 6 million gallons of water, now that many gallons in
that many wells seems like it is going give us problems somehow, is drought part of it? I don't know but it sure don't
help matters. Water is our number one resource and I believe we should treat it like is our number one resource to
which we seem not to be.

mite-help · Dec 20, 2016

""are water wells drilled on oil/gas wellsites? not in my oil producing area. wells here have salt water/oil pumped to the top-more oil/water ratio, better the well] the salt water is hauled by tanker trucks to 'disposal wells' & pumped deep to a underground formation.

jeffcat · Dec 20, 2016

Wonder if they are going to close Las Vegas? Take a look at what lake Mead is down to. Over 100 feet plus and counting.

MarkB_MI · Dec 20, 2016

The water that is re-injected has nothing to do with fracking. Fracking is a one-time event. The wastewater that is re-injected is pumped out of formations so they'll produce more gas. It's been there for millennia, is very salty and is unsuitable for anything other than being pumped back into deep formations just like from whence it came.

JerryS · Dec 20, 2016

Here in northwest Louisiana when the development of the Haynesville Shale gas field began, the
drillers drilled into the Wilcox Aquifer at each well site to supply their water needs. IIRC they used 5 to 8 million gallons per well. Since the Wilcox is the primary clean water
source for this area, residents began to complain to the State Conservation Department when the
water table dropped and residents' water wells began to pump air. Under pressure from the State,
the drillers began seeking surface water sources, in many cases stringing temporary 10-inch water pipe for
miles along rural roads, pumping water from area streams, ponds and lakes. Lots of landowners dug ponds
specifically to sell water to drillers. For some reason the drillers prefer to frack with clean
fresh water. I don't know why they couldn't use salt water.

Janicholson · Dec 20, 2016

Because profit is more sacred than the future. We drag our stupidity in a 360 degree circle called earth's orbit. Learn we must.
jim

Spudm · Dec 20, 2016

The EPA just released a report that accused the fracking industry of contaminating groundwater.

Greg K · Dec 20, 2016

The f racking wastewateris really nasty
stuff. I wouldn't want the liability of
trucking it from site to site. Imagine a
tanker of that stuff overturning and dumping
into a surface waterway.

Glen SW Wi · Dec 20, 2016

Don't have any experience with fracking, but when I worked on a platform out in the Gulf we would sometimes pump the water that came up with the oil back down the well. We treated the water with a bactericide so the oil deposit down the hole wasn't contaminated.

I can't see how water injected down the hole to a depth of +-10,000 feet is going to contaminate the potable water level with the well being 500 ft or less. The casing is cemented in to below the potable water level.

Angle Iron · Dec 20, 2016

(quoted from post at 12:59:51 12/20/16) The water that is re-injected has nothing to do with fracking. Fracking is a one-time event. The wastewater that is re-injected is pumped out of formations so they'll produce more gas. It's been there for millennia, is very salty and is unsuitable for anything other than being pumped back into deep formations just like from whence it came.

nother question then. What is used in the fracking process? If it is water or what ever is it pumped out after the process or does it come up with the gas or oil or does it stay down in the well? Again thanks

TomH in PA · Dec 20, 2016

I skimmed through what appears to be the summary of the report you are talking about. I didn't see where they accuse the industry of anything. All I see are things like "if this were to happen then this could be the result". But I didn't see any examples of those things actually happening, particularly groundwater contamination.
EPA report

Ron Muhlenkamp · Dec 20, 2016

In SW PA, Marcellus Shale, they now use flow back water to frack subsequent wells.
Suspect whole industry is moving that way, as they figure out proper treatments

Rollie NE PA · Dec 20, 2016

Here is a good article about frac water.
http://energy.wilkes.edu/pages/205.asp

Brown Swiss · Dec 21, 2016

We call this world Mother Nature, so one would think we should treat it like our mother, but people continue to treat the world like Bree Olson!

Brown Swiss · Dec 21, 2016

I don't know what all chemicals, but silica sand is pumped with water into the well, I use to work at an underground
sand mine that produced sand for fraccing.

LAA · Dec 21, 2016

It's big business and going to get bigger, the new trend is pipelining the recovered frack water to a central point, treating the water and pumping
back to the field. There are still a lot of ponds in Texas but in the next few years all big operators will be recycling the majority of the frack water,
roughly 60% of all frack water is recovered during production so the potential is huge.

Angle Iron · Dec 21, 2016

(quoted from post at 05:24:21 12/21/16) It's big business and going to get bigger, the new trend is pipelining the recovered frack water to a central point, treating the water and pumping
back to the field. There are still a lot of ponds in Texas but in the next few years all big operators will be recycling the majority of the frack water,
roughly 60% of all frack water is recovered during production so the potential is huge.

hat is what I wondered about. I suspect it has a cost that was avoided in the beginning and now with the outcry of so many it looks more cost effective.

Spook · Dec 21, 2016

(quoted from post at 14:30:11 12/20/16) Because profit is more sacred than the future. We drag our stupidity in a 360 degree circle called earth's orbit. Learn we must.
jim

I just realized that Yoda is here!!! :lol: :lol:

fracking waste water

Angle Iron

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Brown Swiss

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mite-help

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jeffcat

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MarkB_MI

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JerryS

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Janicholson

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Spudm

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Greg K

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Glen SW Wi

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Angle Iron

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TomH in PA

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Ron Muhlenkamp

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Rollie NE PA

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Brown Swiss

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Brown Swiss

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Angle Iron

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