In thirsty times, natural-gas industry's use of water for hydraulic fracturing is getting new scrutiny

The impact of the water-hungry technique of horizontal hydraulic fracturing is increasingly coming into question, particularly in drilling hotbeds stricken by the crop-shriveling drought now covering close to two-thirds of the 48 contiguous states. In much of the West, reports Jim Malewitz of the Stateline, the news agency of The Pew Center for the States, water supplies have long been dwindling due to population expansion and climate change. This year’s drought, coupled with an uptick in drilling, is what Jason Bane, of the nonprofit Western Resource Advocates, calls a perfect storm. The drought “is changing the way people are looking at things,” says Bane, whose group is advocating for more study of fracking’s effect on available water. (Associated Press photo)

How much fracking impacts the availability of water depends on geography — "and on how you define impact," Malewitz writes. "So far, there has been little comprehensive research" on the topic.  "Depending on the depth of the drilling, it can take anywhere from 2 to 12 million gallons of water to frack one well. Those numbers may appear staggering to laymen," but drilling companies prefer to compare them to those of the heaviest users. Chesapeake Energy, the nation’s second largest producer of natural gas, has circulated a fact sheet that states that the company’s water use amounts to just a fraction of agriculture's 82 percent of water use or 8 percent for public water supplies.

"Environmental groups frame the issue differently," Malewitz notes. Western Resource Advocates estimated this year that drilling companies "were consuming enough water to meet the needs of between 66,400 and 118,400 households. The industry is researching ways to reduce water use and improve treatment and recycling, but with current technology, returning water to its natural cycle remains a daunting, costly task." See a related story from CNN/Money here.