25 Year Study 185 Documented Groundwater Contamination Incidents

An August 2011 report released by the Ground Water Protection Council describes a 25 year study in Ohio that has "documented  185 groundwater contamination incidents caused by historic or regulated oilfield activities."

Fracked Oil Wells?

You may be wondering what oilfield activities have to do with fracking, well, the majority (around 97%) of oil wells drilled in Ohio over the last three decades were - that's right - hydro-fracked. And there is more... those orphaned, fracked wells are now being used as Class II injection sites for natural gas fracking brine.

Orphaned Well Leakage

41 of the groundwater contamination incidents were found to be the result of orphaned well leakage. With the state of Ohio home to a rapidly growing number of orphaned well/ fracking brine injection sites, this should be of special concern to residents in the communities surrounding the injection sites.

Test Group of One

While only one shale gas drilling site in Ohio is mentioned in the GWPC report (prior to 20008, though the report is from 2011) in the interest of fairness it is important that I add, that one site had no cases of  "recorded  groundwater contamination incident resulting from site preparation, drilling, well construction, completion, hydraulic fracturing stimulation, or production operation."

Got to Be Fair

It is also important to note in the interest of fairness that "Over the past 25 years, Ohio has not identified a single incident of groundwater contamination from subsurface injection at a permitted Class II disposal well", Texas on the other hand has been "at it" longer and has recorded at least six documented incidents of groundwater contamination from subsurface injection at permitted Class II wells.

Conclusion

I appreciate the GWPC report because it explains both sides of the fracking issue in regard to groundwater contamination from fracking brine. Given the number of wells cited in the two-state study, the industry record is pretty good, though I doubt that a "pretty good record" is much consolation to the individuals exposed to and suffering from the effects of carcinogen-laced water.

Ohio does desperately need the jobs, but even one life lost to the effects of a fracking brine leak is too many. We need to proceed safely. The point of this blog is to raise awareness of the dangers, not to keep people from getting jobs in this overheated industry. We simply should not push ahead in a cavalier and unsafe manner that risks the health of every man, woman, child, and living creature exposed to the water and air contaminated by fracking. It is to see only one side of an issue, especially one as important as safe drinking water versus jobs. It would just be nice to see Ohioans do better on this important issue - before it's too late.

EPA Finds Groundwater Contamination from Fracking

Following report after report on the part of natural gas companies and gas industry lobbyists claiming there has never been a proven and recorded case of groundwater contamination related to hydro-fracture natural gas drilling, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) "released the latest data from Pavillion-area domestic and monitoring wells at a public meeting on November 9, 2011" describing high levels of cancer-causing compounds (including acetone, toluene, naphthalene and traces of diesel fuel) and at least one chemical commonly used in hydraulic fracturing [2-Butoxyethanol (2-BE).] 


In short, after sampling water from Wyoming 42 homes located in close proximity to drilling sites, the EPA went on to drill 2 monitoring/test wells. The monitoring well sample results include (preliminary report quoted from EPA website):

• Elevated ppH– rang g ging from 11.2-12
• Potassium (8-18x) and chloride (18x) significantly elevated 
• Synthetic organic compounds including glycols, alcohols and 2-butoxyethanol
• Methane at near-saturation levels (up to 19 mg/L)- similar isotopic signature to production gas 
• Other petroleum-related detections– BTEX (including benzene at 50x the MCL), phenols, trimethylbenzenes,, DR

The EPA plans to release an official report in late November, though all of this information is currently available on their website.

Adding List of Ohio Organizations Working to Provide Citizens with Information About Fracking

I am adding, in the right side-bar, a list of organizations that provide information about fracking in Ohio, along with links to the organizations' websites.

If you are affiliated with an organization that is not listed, and would like your organization's site included, feel free to leave a message to have your site considered and added.

Common Problems of Storage Tanks

 

Author: richelleloughney

The water from a well system is often directed into your home. The well system has some form of storage tank which serves as the container connected to your home's piping system. Over the course of time, these storage tanks are susceptible to breaking and other maintenance issues.

One of the common problems that may occur in storage tanks is the loss of water quality, especially with underground water storage tanks. According to several studies, water in storage tanks may get contaminated for several reasons. One, there may be a chemical contamination in the water source that eventually find its way into tanks. For instance, storm water that gets into the water system is more polluted than other water sources.

Aside from the reduced water quality, leaks and damages are also a main concern. Corrosion and deterioration are primary sources for these. For instance, a water tank that holds thousands of gallons of water needs to be replaced because of leaks and damages. This can be very costly, especially if the damage is extensive. A lot of professional surmise that leaks in storage tanks are attributed to faulty concrete coverage, insufficient interior waterproofing and improper maintenance.
Some also look at the possibility of inconsistent application of regulations as the cause of storage tank issues. For instance, some regulatory boards issue the use of channel systems for storm water into the underground water and storage system. This can become a primary source of contamination of water sources located in these underground storage systems such as Field Erected Tanks.

Costs for installing water storage tanks such as Frac Tank Alternatives have become considerably high during the recent years. Underground water storage systems, for instance, generally cost twice as much as above-ground systems. Underground storage systems typically needs longer pipe runs, conduit and electrical wires. Aside from that, accessing these may also prove to be a challenge thus making maintenance more costly.

It can be very inconvenient if there is damage in your storage tank. For repair and maintenance, you can contact Frac Tanks repair services to evaluate the damage and determine if your storage tank needs to be replaced. It may, however, be expensive to have your tanks repaired, especially if the damage is extensive.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/industrial-articles/common-problems-of-storage-tanks-5281554.html

About the Author

New Links to Fracking Information Sites in Side-Bar

I just want to point out a couple of new links in the sidebar (I'll put them here in this post, too).

The first one goes to a site called Earth Justice. It has a video clip about a couple who noticed signs of fracking surveyors in a park, fought it, and won - along with a handy list of tips for citizens in similar situations.

The second link is to the Center for Health, Environment and Justice's No Fracking Page. 


I apologize for the brevity of this post, I just wanted to get this updated since I found these two informative sites this evening.