Water Testing in Carroll County Shows No Complications From Fracking
From the Times Reporter:
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Preliminary results from a study of Carroll County residential wells show that hydraulic fracturing has had no impact on water quality.
Amy Townsend-Small, assistant professor of geology at the University of Cincinnati, shared findings from the study with members of Carroll Concerned Citizens on Thursday evening.
Carroll County was chosen for the study because it is the epicenter of the Utica Shale natural-gas exploration boom in eastern Ohio. More than 300 wells have been permitted there since 2010.
Townsend-Small stressed that her group has no bias for or against hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," the process used in drilling natural gas wells. "Our group is not aligned with an industry group or an environmental group," she said. "We just want to learn about it."
The study is being conducted in conjunction with Carroll Concerned Citizens.
Sampling of well water began in the fall of 2012 and has involved as many as 25 water wells scattered throughout Carroll County. Four wells have been sampled on a regular basis every three or four months.
The water then is tested to measure its acidity, electrical conductivity (which is related to the concentration of salts dissolved in the water), and methane.
"We haven't seen anything to show that wells have been contaminated by fracking," Townsend-Small said.
Read the whole article here.Instead, she said, "We are seeing good quality water here."
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