What Do We Do When the Water's Gone?
(Article published in "Living Natural First" May 2008 issue)
By James Samudio
I guess when all the water's gone, we can drink the natural gas.
Unless you have been out of the country for an extended period of time, you are aware of the significant issues we face here with regard to water conservation. One area that has become a focus of controversy is the ongoing gas exploration. I, along with many of you, fought the prospect of urban gas drilling and with it currently underway, remain concerned with the methods being used. Now that many areas are being leased and drilled upon, we need to stop grumbling and become more proactive.
The disposal of waste and conservation of water must be considered and properly addressed. It is a fact that the energy produced by the oil and gas companies is a necessity to us, but the most advanced technology economically feasible must be used to produce that energy. We need not sacrifice the resources of future generations when we have means available that helps to limit the environmental impact of our quest for energy sources.
Many sites in high impact are
as, such as those near churches and schools, require closed loop drilling systems; however, all other urban areas allow drilling with a sump system. For those of you who aren't familiar with these terms, a closed loop system is set up such that the water and drilling chemicals used in the process are fully contained and are then hauled away when drilling is complete. When a sump system is used, a hole is dug, usually about 0.4 acres in size, and a liner is installed to retain the water and chemicals used during the drilling process. In this case, when the drilling is complete, the pit is simply filled in with soil. Unfortunately, even after the muck dries, the chemicals remain and can leach into our groundwater due to a tear in or deterioration of the liner. Between 1996 and 2002, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, Montana, South Dakota and North Dakota conducted 475 field inspections at sump pit sites. Leaching problems were found at 290 (more than 60 percent) of the sites.
For those who have not already signed leases, consider including a closed loop system with some form of water reclamation in your agreement if you are planning to sign a lease in the near future. For individuals who have already leased, it is not too late to contact your city officials and the gas company to encourage the use of a closed loop system. It is in our hands to negotiate not only the cost per acre, but also the manner in which the producing companies do the work.
Another critical issue arising from the gas drilling is the vast amount of water being consumed in the process. Many of you are aware that large amounts of water are being used during fracing, but little is being said about the one million gallons of water lost per well during the drilling process, nor about its impact on our water supply and the surrounding environment. And, when I say lost, I mean taken out of our hydrologic cycle forever.
In 2008, an estimated 200 wells will be drilled in the city of Fort Worth and another 300 at DFW Airport. In these two locales alone, over 500 million gallons of water will be lost in the drilling process at the rate of one million gallons per well. Take into consideration the fact that you or I would be fined $200 for using a sprinkler system at the wrong time of day, yet the use of water for drilling purposes has hardly been addressed.
There are domestic service companies in existence that address the water-loss problem such as Brandt Industries and M.I. Swaco. These companies join together various pieces of machinery to make a partially closed loop system and are able to recycle between 20 and 30 percent of the water used in drilling. In my research I have discovered a company, BOS Solutions (http://www.bosrentals.com), out of Canada. They have developed a stand alone, patented, closed-loop process, that is specifically designed to address these problems. Their machines can recycle 70 percent of the water used during the drilling process. Moreover, they have 25 percent less drilling refuse to dispose of when the drilling is complete. In Canada, closed loop systems have been a requirement for over ten years. The technology far exceeds that which is available from domestic companies. To our advantage, BOS is in the process of locating an office here in the Metroplex to begin confronting these issues.
The drilling companies argue that using these services is not economically feasible since they shortsightedly see the cost as just an additional day rate, and don’t examine the overall savings to the total drilling process. If they were to look at the cost savings of trucking 70 percent less water and 25 percent less solid waste combined with a 25 percent decrease in drilling time (through controlling the fluid consistency more effectively with the BOS system), they would find that using these services provides a substantial cost savings. Couple this with the elimination of the long term liability associated with an open sump pit and the profitability is extended to include good environmental stewardship.
As homeowners and pro-active citizens, we can encourage the reduction of water consumption and drilling-related traffic as well as the elimination of sump pits and resulting land waste in our urban environment by contacting the drilling companies and city officials directly to inform them of our desires and concerns. More importantly, through the implementation of this technology, we can save millions of gallons of water on the wells to be drilled in 2008, and can begin to secure a sustainable future for generations to come. Considering Dallas/Fort Worth is the fastest growing metropolitan area in the country, it is an area facing an impending water crisis, and we must preserve, capture and reuse every gallon of water possible.
In subsequent articles, I hope to address the frac water issues and explore ways in which we can conserve our water more effectively and add to our water supply without huge costs. Once again, I urge you to be active in writing to the drilling companies and our city officials. If we as a community are inactive we are to blame for the outcome, no matter how horrific the results.
For a sample letter to send or the addresses of your local city councilman and the gas production companies go to:
www. elizabethanna.net.
BIO:
James Samudio co-owns and operates Elizabeth Anna’s Old World Garden with his wife Elizabeth at 2825 8th ave. in Fort Worth. There center is Fort Worth’s only full service totally organic garden and home center. He and his wife have a vision for water conservation and sustainable green living in an urban setting.