Report: Fracking water use could lead to severe droughts
ZANESVILLE – With some groups touting the economic benefit hydraulic fracturing could have locally, some scientists fear the effect of current trends on the future of the Muskingum River Watershed.
The Muskingum Watershed Conservancy District, an 18-county political body responsible for the 19 percent of Ohio's landmass that is the Muskingum River basin, is considering the sale of large amounts of freshwater to the shale drilling industry at a low price — $4.25 per 1,000 gallons.
Dr. Ted Auch, head of the nonprofit group FracTracker Alliance, is concerned not only with the lack of data that surrounds that decision but also with the effect of allowing large drilling companies to purchase water cheaply.
While the district's website states it is "awaiting results from a U.S. Geological Survey analysis of water availability at several other reservoirs before deciding whether to approve a growing number of requests for water by other drilling companies," Auch said his concern is that the agency could take the money for short-term benefits while not considering the environment and the future.
The district did not return calls seeking further comment.
Auch presented the district with his research this month. According to his analysis of gas wells in Ohio, the hydraulic fracturing process takes about 4.7 million gallons of water per well. For the 613 wells in the watershed, that means an average of 2.9 billion gallons of water have been used to date. In the state, Auch estimates 4.7 billion gallons have been used in the 985 permitted wells.
In each of the watershed's 18 counties, that equates to almost 4,000 swimming pools on average — 138 gallons per well per person, or between 4.44 percent and 7.14 percent of Muskingum Watershed residents' annual water usage.
That is about 3 percent to 4 percent of "available water," or water that is left over in the watershed after environmental and human consumption is complete.
"That's the water that protects the watershed from drought," Auch said, and the quantity is expected to grow, potentially causing problems in the future.
The growth comes from the drilling companies' increasing consumption, Auch said. Every quarter, he said, companies in Ohio such as Antero Resources are increasing their use of water from sources such as Seneca Lake by almost 250,000 gallons per well. Other locations of water withdrawal are more difficult to track down, said FreshWater Accountability Project Director Lea Harper, as the Ohio Department of Natural Resources accepts submissions such as "private pond" on applications for drilling permits.
Projecting into the future, Auch has calculated that, at the current rate drilling permits are being granted, 5 percent to 7 percent of available water will be used by drilling companies in the next year.
That increasing rate leads him to predict a much higher percentage of available water use in the future.
"We could at least reach about 35 percent (usage)," he said.
Before that point, the watershed would begin to have problems, he said. Water retention by the land already has seen a vast decrease since the switch from a five-crop rotating season to a two-crop rotating season and the all-or-nothing rainstorms brought on by climate change began, Auch said.
"These all combine to say you can't keep going down this road," he said.
If only 65 percent of available water is there to act as a buffer, the area, which can stand up to months of drought, would be able to withstand only a few weeks without serious problems for animals and humans.
"The available water, I perceive it as the watershed's feed corn. It's the buffer against any dramatic events," he said. "If you start to screw around with that water, you're talking about messing with the watershed's ability to sustain life. ... I worry about agriculture, I worry about the wildlife that depends on the watershed, and I think, on some level, the chances you would have (water advisories) if you have these droughts."
A 2003 report by the General Accounting's Office to congressional requesters on the country's freshwater supply also predicted droughts, caused not by hydraulic fracturing but by climate change.
"If anticipated water shortages actually occur, they could have severe economic, environmental and social impacts," the report says.
No widespread study such as that has been done in the years since the popularization of shale drilling, which is part of what Auch is fighting for.
Before the district makes any kind of decision concerning the water supply, FracTrack is recommending they hire more scientists to monitor the ingress and egress of the watershed. For $150,000, the organization has set up a system of about 10 monitoring stations to be placed in the watershed and staffed by qualified scientists.
Without sufficient data, FracTrack and the FreshWater Accountability Project are concerned the district will continue to make decisions that will hurt the environment and community's future. With the data, they hope the district can revise many of their water policies and protect its taxpayer base.
One of the policies in need of revision, Harper and Auch agree, is the pricing and sale of water. The $4.25 per 1,000 gallons fee is almost like giving the water away and, with a $7 million well, accounts for only 0.23 percent of capital expenditures, Auch said.
"We're saying the watershed isn't accurately pricing water," Auch said. "They don't have a good handle on that."
Although Auch doesn't have a fair price in his head, he hopes to discover more information with future research.
"Pricing is a crucial aspect to it," he said. "Because, right now, the industry is pawning off costs to your community that will ht it in 30 or 40 years while cutting themselves a nice profit."