Scientific studies, government reports, and other resources examining how fracking and oil and gas development can affect groundwater, surface water, drinking-water supplies, and wastewater.
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 2016
EPA’s comprehensive scientific assessment examined the relationship between activities in the hydraulic-fracturing water cycle and drinking-water resources. It synthesized a large scientific literature, underwent external peer review, documented circumstances in which impacts occurred, and identified important limitations in available national data.
Report: EPA/600/R-16/236Fa
Vengosh et al. 2014. A critical review examining potential impacts involving water withdrawals, groundwater contamination, surface-water contamination, spills, wastewater treatment and disposal, and naturally occurring contaminants associated with shale-gas development.
DOI: 10.1021/es405118y
Barth-Naftilan et al. 2018. A two-year prospective study that monitored groundwater before, during, and after nearby shale-gas wells were drilled, hydraulically fractured, and placed into production. Its before-and-after design makes it particularly useful for understanding the difficulty of distinguishing development-related changes from natural groundwater variability.
Warner et al. 2013. Researchers examined effluent, surface water, and stream sediments associated with a wastewater-treatment facility accepting shale-gas wastewater. The study documented downstream changes in water chemistry and elevated radium in stream sediments.