Water shortages could doom the fracking industry in England

[unhappycamper]

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/11/27/water-shortages-could-doom-the-fracking-industry-in-england/



Water shortages could doom the fracking industry in England
By Fiona Harvey, The Guardian
Wednesday, November 27, 2013 14:30 EST

Fracking may be impractical in parts of the UK due to the scarcity of local water supplies, and in other areas will have an impact on local water resources, the water industry has admitted, in a deal struck with the oil and gas industry.

The controversial process of shale gas and oil extraction uses hydraulic fracturing technology or fracking, where water and chemicals under very high pressure are blasted at dense shale rocks, opening up fissures through which the tiny bubbles of methane can be released.

But the quantities of water required are very large, leading to cases in the US – where fracking is widespread – where towns and villages have run dry.

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But the potential need to abstract water from underground sources or rivers has raised concerns. The new water bill is likely to lead to a large increase in the amount of water taken by water companies from rivers and streams, and has been criticised by campaigners for enshrining very lax controls on how much they can take. This could lead to water courses running dry, with dire effects on wildlife. If water companies are under pressure to supply more for fracking, this could put even more pressure on resources.