On February 1, Texas’ new fracking regulations go into effect. These regulations require drillers to disclose both total water and the chemicals used in fracking.
Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, uses a mix of water, sand, and chemicals to fracture the earth in a well. Many communities have expressed concerns over chemicals used in fracking leaking into aquifers and contaminating drinking water.
Another important disclosure will be the total amount of water used to frack a well. With Texas in a severe drought, every drop of water matters.
Most fracked wells use between one and five million gallons of water over three to five days, according to Justin Furnace, president of the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association.
The average American household uses about 400 gallons of water per day, so about 2500-12500 households could have been supplied for a day with the water that goes into fracking.
The water and chemical usage will be published online at FracFocus.
Petrochemical industry photo via Shutterstock
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[...] states already require companies to post a list of their chemicals to an online database, FracFocus, which is available to the public. Companies drilling on public [...]