One of the top criticisms of horizontal hydraulic fracturing for oil and gas – commonly referred to as fracking – has been its potential for contaminating nearby water wells and groundwater.
Geologists from the University of Cincinnati, between January 2012 and February 2015, collected and tested 180 groundwater samples in several northeast Ohio counties at the center of the Utica shale oil-gas boom.
According to its publication in April 2018 in the Environmental Monitoring Assessment journal, the UC geologists’ peer-reviewed study “found no relationship between CH4 (natural gas methane) concentration or source in groundwater and proximity to active gas well sites.” The oil and gas industry seized upon those findings as absolving the fracking industry in Ohio of one of its top alleged offenses, endangering nearby water supplies.
The headline for a University of Cincinnati’s UC Magazine article about the water-quality study’s findings appeared to back up that conclusion, declaring, “UC Study Finds No Evidence of Drinking Water Contamination from Fracking.” The findings weren’t so clear-cut, however, according to the study’s lead author, UC associate professor of geology Amy Townsend-Small.
“Those types of accidents could still happen,” Townsend-Small said.
We didn’t measure any ‘contaminants’ that can actually make you sick.” She added later, “We didn’t measure other compounds that could lead to health problems, like chemicals used in the fracturing process or other hydrocarbons found in natural gas, like benzene.” This raises the question – because a link was not found between methane content and these producing wells, does it follow that the water hadn’t been otherwise adversely affected by the wells?
“We didn’t measure anything other than methane, pH and conductivity (although changes in those would probably indicate changes in other things like benzene that are a health hazard).” “We provided free water-testing data to anyone with a private drinking water well who was interested in participating,” she said.
“Many people who live in this area do not have access to water-quality monitoring on a regular basis, and there is a lot of fear around the issue of fracking and water contamination.” The geologists “measured concentrations of methane in groundwater as well as the isotopic composition of methane, which can indicate whether methane comes from natural gas or another source.
“The data from all the water tests shows that the majority of methane in groundwater in our participants’ wells is from biological sources, not natural gas, and there were no major changes (in methane) as the amount of fracking wells in the area increased.” Previous studies in Pennsylvania had found that residents living near fracking wells had high levels of methane in their drinking water, which unlike the water the UC scientists tested in northeast Ohio, had an isotopic signature similar to that of natural gas.
“Although the UC study did not find a relationship between methane contamination due to oil and gas exploration, it can in no way be interpreted that the contamination does not happen or could happen in the future to these wells.” Groff noted that other studies have confirmed the potential damage to water from fracking, including a federal EPA report in late 2016 (under the outgoing Obama administration) that changed an earlier conclusion on how fracking affects nearby water supplies.