westend wrote:
Is there potential for damage to the aquifer? Yes, but probably more from depletion from using the water and surface contamination than drilling.
First, since a lot of us drive gas guzzling RVs (including me), it would be pretty hypocritical to throw a hissy fit over hydraulic fracking.
However, that said . . . ignoring the "side effects" of this process wouldn't be a good idea either. Besides possible
ground water chemical contamination, fracking, particularly the Williston Bakken
salty oil shale, requires
a lot of fresh water -- which is not plentiful in this area.
Finally, while most of us can just ignore all this because they aren't drilling wells in our back yards, there are other things. This summer when we were camping in Wisconsin near the Mississippi, we discovered that many locals were upset about possible
frac sand mines in the area. Turns out that fracking requires special sand -- and lots of it.
