New York City’s water is known for being safe to drink from the tap. The quality of the water is also better than many other locations around the area. However, hydraulic fracturing has caused concerns with the contamination of the water supply. Natural gas is necessary in many things in our everyday lives. Some may say that the benefits received from hydraulic fracturing overweigh the potential risk of tainting the water supply.
Hydraulic fracturing is the process of extracting natural gases from shale formations underground. It involves injecting large amounts of water with chemicals to release the gases to be captured. Many benefits of hydraulic fracturing includes extracting large amounts of gas not normally unavailable and it allows us to extract natural gas from within the country rather than importing gas from other countries. Hydraulic fracturing also creates many jobs for people that are unemployed. Natural gas is also more “eco-friendly” than other forms of fuel.
The argument for all these benefits include the numerous amounts of undisclosed chemicals that are injected along with the water. These chemicals are not required to be revealed but are known to be toxic. The Marcellus shale formation is known to be a drilling site for natural gas. The problem that occurs with this location is that the clean water reservoirs for New York City is located in this region. The contaminated water by hydraulic fracturing can release chemicals into the air when combined with exhaust fumes can be detrimental and harmful to the environment. Ever since fracturing began, research for solar and wind power has significantly declined.
With the pros and cons of hydraulic fracturing, the benefits that are provided still seem to outweigh the potential disadvantages. Natural gas is imperative as an energy source. Therefore, hydraulic fracturing is necessary to help benefit the use of energy by the country. FAD (Filtration Avoidance Determination) is a policy that claims that hydraulic fracturing affects drinking water for New York City. Therefore, hydraulic fracturing should be used to help benefit the need of energy in the US. Even though the drinking water can be contaminated, there can be potential methods to filter or clean the water in the future. Since natural gases are in high demand, FAD should not be implemented to help meet the energy consumption needs of the country.
Source:
Arthur, J.D., M. Uretsky, and P. Wilson (ALL Consulting). ―Water Resources and Use for Hydraulic
Fracturing in the Marcellus Shale Region.‖ Prepared in conjunction with Co-Researchers including
the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, Susquehanna River Basin
Commission, and the Delaware River Basin Commission under U.S. Department of Energy Research
Project DE-FE0000797. Presented at the International Petroleum and Biofuels Environmental
Conference, San Antonio, Texas, August 30 – September 2, 2010.
