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.