Gas well accident a reminder of the need to guard water quality
"Integrity has no need of rules."
Albert Camus
The following excerpts are taken from an article appearing in Penn State Live, PSU’s official news source. Visit http://live.psu.edu/story/47244/rss69 for complete text.
The recent eruption of a Marcellus shale gas well in Clearfield County, Pa. has triggered investigations by state agencies. PSU water specialists say this incident should remind PA residents that drilling can impact water resources, and well owners near any drill sites should take steps to monitor their drinking water.
The contaminated water spewed from the gas well for more than 15 hours and may have entered a local aquifer. Bryan Swistock, senior Penn State Extension associate, said it would be prudent for property owners living near the spill to have an independent laboratory test their well water.
"Things like methane, chloride, total dissolved solids and barium are very good indicators and are relatively inexpensive to test for -- most labs can do them," Swistock explained. "When you move down into the organic chemicals that might be used in fracturing, the cost to test goes way up.
"They haven't determined how the blow-out happened, but it appears that it allowed a lot of gas and hydrofracturing fluid to escape on the ground into nearby streams," Swistock said. "That reinforces how important it is for people who live near gas drilling to document their water quality before the drilling, so that if any incidents do occur, you can prove they happened. And that includes testing of wells, streams, ponds and any water resources that you're concerned about before the drilling occurs. "It's hard to document anything if you don't have any pre-existing data," he added. "It's important that homeowners have an unbiased expert from a state-certified lab conduct the tests, in case the sample results are needed for legal action."
"Fracking is a very intensive industrial activity, and these kinds of incidents are going to happen," he said.
NOTE: For water testing in the greater Lycoming County region, contact Seawald Labs at 570-326-4001 or visit the lab on line at www.seewaldlabs.com
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