TRENDS IN BASELINE WATER TESTING NEAR PA DRILLING SITES

Transcription

1 TRENDS IN BASELINE WATER TESTING NEAR PA DRILLING SITES Bryan R. Swistock, M.S., Water Resources Extension Specialist Elizabeth W. Boyer, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Water Resources James Clark, M.A., Extension Educator, McKean County Extension Mark Madden, B.S., Extension Educator, Bradford County Extension Dana E. E Rizzo, Rizzo M.S., M S Extension Educator Educator, Westmoreland County Extension The Pennsylvania State University Funded by the Center for Rural Pennsylvania & the Pennsylvania Water Resources Research Center

2 Groundwater Supplies Private Water Wells and Springs Water Wells drilled Photo: U.S. Geological Survey One million homesandfarms More than 30% of the population in most Marcellus counties uses a private water supply No statewide regulations everything is voluntary Previous studies show high rate of contamination Limited i testing before bf Marcellus gas exploration

3 Regulations for Protection ti of Di Drinking Wt Water Supplies Certified mail notification during permit phase if water supply is within 3,000 of gas well (was 1,000 ) Freshwater protection string installed to protect groundwater 500 setback (was 0 ) Pit and tanks for waste fluids Presumed responsibility

4 Study Summary Analysis of pre drilling water quality data collected from private water wells within about one mile of Marcellus drilling sites Detailed survey of water supply owners to determine water testing practices and opinions

5 Study Areas 4,626 Gas Wells Drilled 07 through March pre drill water well samples Median well depth = 178 feet

6 Pre-Drilling Water Testing 93% using third party, chain of custody collection educational success! 64% of water wells were tested t dby industry 28% of well owners had both hindustry and voluntary testing Percent 100 Industry Homeowner Thousands of Feet From Gas Well

7 Pre-Drilling Water Test Parameters % of Wate er Supplies Tested Industry Homeowner 0 Parameter

8 Who Collected Industry Pre-Drill Sample? (based on water supply owner survey) Percen nt

9 Ability to Pay for Pre-Drill Testing 40 Percen nt Median price paid = $353 0

10 Sources of Testing Strategies Percen nt

11 Parameter Penn State PA DEP NY WRI NY DEC Ohio EPA Drilling Co. TDS ph Iron/Mn Chloride Barium Methane Ethane Bromide Sodium Conductivity Hardness Strontium Alkalinity Suspended solids VOC s (BTEX) Surfactants Radionuclides 3 2/3 1 Arsenic Coliform Oil&Grease Sulfate Nitrate 2 Calcium Magnesium Potassium

12 Perce ent Failing Standard Pre-Drilling Water Quality Issues Overall, 40% fail at least one drinking water standard 0% for nitrate, t MBAS, BTEX, heavy metals, radium, gross alpha 0

13 PRE EXISTING EXISTING METHANE Vented Well Cap Pre drilling samplesfrom 189 water wells % had detectable methane but most concentrations were well below any action level Issues: Sample protocols Lack of a drinking water std Mixed messages % of Samples Photo courtesy: Susan Gohr, Twin Lakes Lk Water Treatment 3 1 Methane (mg/l)

14 Percent Kn nowing Pro oblem Exist s Awareness of Pre-Drilling Problems (Based on 233 pre-drilling samples)

15 Many Found Water Tests Difficult to Understand d Perce nt Industry Purchased 10 0

16 Additional pre drilling dataset of 800 water wells and springsin eight counties of Pennsylvania

17 Study Implications Educational Needs Wt Water testing ti strategies t Where, what, how Regulatory changes driving testing Industry vs. voluntary testing WATER TEST INTERPRETATION Workshops Publications Website tools Understanding di pre drilling issues Water test interpretation workshop Lock Haven, PA May 12

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