Fracking Smoking Gun - Methane Levels In Water Supply

[bobabode]

http://www.latimes.com/nation/nation...915-story.html


"Natural gas production contaminated the well water of two homes in a Texas subdivision, according to a study published Monday.
The discovery came two years after the Environmental Protection Agency halted its investigation in the Parker County community over concern about costs and legal risks.
In the new study, scientists were trying to determine the origins of high methane levels in drinking water aquifers near gas wells in Pennsylvania and Texas. They found that water in the two homes had changed over nine months, going from containing trace amounts of methane to containing high levels.
The newly identified cases “caught this contamination in the act,” said Robert Jackson, a study coauthor and professor of environmental science at Stanford University.
The discovery challenges a long-standing assertion by the oil and gas industry that the U.S. energy boom has not damaged water supplies.
Other studies have found that water wells near natural gas production are more likely to contain methane. But the industry has contended that the methane found in water wells is naturally occurring and was there all along, before gas production began.

Each of 20 homes tested in Parker County has detectable methane in its well water because of many layers of oil and gas in the ground, the scientists said. Methane that enters homes through drinking water can pose an explosion risk if it accumulates in rooms or other spaces.
Two homes with water containing negligible amounts of methane in 2012 were tested again in August and November 2013, and showed far higher levels, the study said.
Further, the methane in the homes’ water no longer contained the chemical makeup of the naturally occurring trace gas, the study found. Instead, it had the same chemical fingerprint as natural gas deposits far below the aquifer." LATimes

[djv8ga]

Natural gas in water wells is nothing new.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by djv8ga

Natural gas in water wells is nothing new.

At least attempt to read past the headline for once.

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by bobabode

At least attempt to read past the headline for once.

It's bull shit. Blaming methane on fracking is stupid.

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by djv8ga

It's bull shit.

How so?

[djv8ga]

Originally Posted by bobabode

How so?

What in the process of fracking would cause methane? The industry is correct.
It takes a lot of material to create a significant amount of methane.

[Pio1980]

Afaik, fracking isn't selective on what gasses get released and where it goes. If there was no gas in the water prior to the introduction of a geologically intrusive process and it appears afterward, it's logical to assume cause and effect.

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[piece-itpete]

I heard a discussion of this on NPR. The takeaway was it's not the actual fracking but leaking issues with the wells, something that can be fixed.

Pete

[Dondilion]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I heard a discussion of this on NPR. The takeaway was it's not the actual fracking but leaking issues with the wells, something that can be fixed.

Pete

My main issue with Frackers:

Why exemptions from CLEAN DRINKING WATER ACT.

[Pio1980]

Originally Posted by piece-itpete

I heard a discussion of this on NPR. The takeaway was it's not the actual fracking but leaking issues with the wells, something that can be fixed.

Pete

See prior post re cause and effect event chain.

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