Hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, in California uses large amounts of water in order to extract pockets of natural gas from shale deposits, causing concern amid the current drought conditions.
A report by the U.S. Geological Survey in 2008 estimated that natural gas drilling uses up to three million gallons of water per treatment and that it has raised questions about the safety, sustainability and transportation costs in the fracking industry.
“Drilling requires large amounts of water to create a circulating mud that cools the bit and carries the rock cuttings out of the borehole,” the report stated. “Under drought conditions, or in locations with already stressed water supplies, obtaining the millions of gallons needed for a shale gas well could be problematic.”
Fracking in California may actually use less water than it does nationwide, said Kent Hymel, CSUN professor of economics who has studied fracking as part of his environmental economics research.
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