Shallow Groundwater Quality Unaffected by Natural Gas Exploration and Production in the Fayetteville Shale

Published November 8, 2013

In January 2013, the U.S. Geological Survey released a report on its study that examined the water quality of 127 shallow domestic wells in the Fayetteville Shale natural gas production area of Arkansas, entitled: Shallow Groundwater Quality and Geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale Gas-Production Area, North-Central Arkansas, 2011.[1] The study found no groundwater contamination associated with natural gas production, contrary to unsupported claims by outspoken opponents to hydraulic fracturing. “[G]roundwater chemistry in the shallow aquifer system in the study area is a result of natural processes, beginning with recharge of dilute atmospheric precipitation and evolution of observed groundwater chemistry through rock-water interaction and redox processes.”[2]

The USGS study, in cooperation with scientists from Duke University and the University of Arkansas, examined water-quality data from samples taken in Van Buren and Faulkner counties in 2011, including chloride concentrations from 127 wells and methane concentrations and carbon isotope ratios from a subsample of 51 wells.

USGS Director Marcia McNutt gave this overview: "For more than one hundred years, the USGS has been a source of freely available, unbiased information on our natural resources such as oil, gas, and water, helping government and local leaders make wise decisions for the public good. This new study is important in terms of finding no significant effects on groundwater quality from shale gas development within the area of sampling."[3]

For more detailed information, the full report can be viewed at http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5273/

[1] Kresse, T.M., Warner, N.R., Hays, P.D., Down, A., Vengosh, A., and Jackson, R.B., 2012, Shallow

groundwater quality and geochemistry in the Fayetteville Shale gas-production area, north-central Arkansas, 2011: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012–5273, 31 p.

[1] Id. at 1.

[1] USGS News Release (1/9/2013).