Texas' second oil boom costs precious water

[white cloud]

CROCKETT COUNTY — Plastic-lined pits holding millions of gallons of blue-green water are tucked away in fields chock-full of withering mesquite trees.

On the banks of one of the larger man-made lakes, a lone green plant stands in stark contrast to the arid terrain that surrounds its artificial habitat. After the driest eight-month period in the state's recorded history, this barren ranch land has become inhospitable to even the most drought-resistant vegetation.

So where, amid the severe dry spell, did all this pristine water come from?
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Most estimates show the amount of water required to frack a well is 50,000 gallons to 4 million gallons, depending on the nature of the rock being penetrated. But some show per well use can be as high as 13 million gallons — roughly the same amount of water San Angelo would use in one day in the winter.

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http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2011/jun/25/one-scarce-resource-for-another-water-151-and-of/

[sonias]

1. Oh the stupid - it will kill us

We're having the worst drought ever and still wasting our water. What good is natural gas going to do for us when we have no water to drink?

:banghead:

[sonias]

2. Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas

NYTimes 6/26/11

Behind Veneer, Doubt on Future of Natural Gas

(snip)
But not everyone in the Energy Information Administration agrees. In scores of internal e-mails and documents, officials within the Energy Information Administration, or E.I.A., voice skepticism about the shale gas industry.

One official says the shale industry may be “ set up for failure.” “It is quite likely that many of these companies will go bankrupt,” a senior adviser to the Energy Information Administration administrator predicts. Several officials echo concerns raised during previous bubbles, in housing and in technology stocks, for example, that ended in a bust.

Energy Information Administration employees also explain in e-mails and documents, copies of which were obtained by The New York Times, that industry estimates might overstate the amount of gas that companies can affordably get out of the ground.

This is starting to look more and more like the ponzi scheme of the home mortgage industry that caused our financial crisis. Some early companies will make money and everyone else will leave the local taxpayers holding the bag, cleaning up the costs of their poisoned water. :grr: