A Comprehensive Analysis of Groundwater Quality in The Barnett Shale Region

The exploration of unconventional shale energy reserves and the extensive use of hydraulic fracturing during well stimulation have raised concerns about the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOG) on the environment. Most accounts of groundwater contamination have focused pr...

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Published inEnvironmental science & technology Vol. 49; no. 13; pp. 8254 - 8262
Main Authors Hildenbrand, Zacariah L, Carlton, Doug D, Fontenot, Brian E, Meik, Jesse M, Walton, Jayme L, Taylor, Josh T, Thacker, Jonathan B, Korlie, Stephanie, Shelor, C. Phillip, Henderson, Drew, Kadjo, Akinde F, Roelke, Corey E, Hudak, Paul F, Burton, Taylour, Rifai, Hanadi S, Schug, Kevin A
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States American Chemical Society 07.07.2015
Subjects
Anions - analysis
Aquifers
Bromides - analysis
Chlorides - analysis
Chromatography, Gas
Contamination
Geologic Sediments - chemistry
Groundwater
Groundwater - chemistry
Groundwater pollution
Hydraulic fracturing
Metals - analysis
Methylene Chloride - analysis
Oil and Gas Fields - chemistry
Texas
Water Pollutants, Chemical - analysis
Water Quality
Water Supply
ASW, USA, Texas
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Summary:The exploration of unconventional shale energy reserves and the extensive use of hydraulic fracturing during well stimulation have raised concerns about the potential effects of unconventional oil and gas extraction (UOG) on the environment. Most accounts of groundwater contamination have focused primarily on the compositional analysis of dissolved gases to address whether UOG activities have had deleterious effects on overlying aquifers. Here, we present an analysis of 550 groundwater samples collected from private and public supply water wells drawing from aquifers overlying the Barnett shale formation of Texas. We detected multiple volatile organic carbon compounds throughout the region, including various alcohols, the BTEX family of compounds, and several chlorinated compounds. These data do not necessarily identify UOG activities as the source of contamination; however, they do provide a strong impetus for further monitoring and analysis of groundwater quality in this region as many of the compounds we detected are known to be associated with UOG techniques.
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ISSN:0013-936X
1520-5851
DOI:10.1021/acs.est.5b01526