How much of the water used in horizontal hydrofracing is recovered?
If the frac job is done correctly, most, if not all, the volume of water used in hydrofracing is returned, but its composition changes over time as saline formation water begins to mix in with the frac water and is recovered with it. The time it takes to recover the frac water depends on whether there is enough gas to push the water out of the hole, or if the water needs to be pumped (initially) to get the gas to flow and carry out the rest. Generally it takes about two weeks to recover the volume of water initially injected; after that the water recovered is generally considered formation water.
How can homeowners protect their private well supplies?
Penn State has a bulletin Gas Well Drilling and Your Private Water Supply addressing this question.
When Cornell Cooperative Extension is answering a “recently asked question”, who is answering, what is their expertise and where are they getting their information?
Fortuna’s Rick Kesey recently said at a public meeting in Van Etten, NY that at their pilot Marcellus wells in Troy, PA they were recovering only about 40 percent of the frac fluids.
Epsilon Energy’s vice president of exploration David Hines told the
Wyoming County Press Examiner this January that about 10 percent of the water used during hydraulic fracturing by Epsilon Energy returns.
If you can’t take the time to accurately research (and site) and answer a question, don’t publish it. If you continue to promote gossip as “facts” you misplace the trust people have placed in your agency and contribute to the confusion and fear of a public with out access to accurate information.
In the defense of Cornell – I have heard reported from drillers the return is in the range of 20 to 40 %.