By Rick Behning, PE

One of the concerns related to the fracking process is water usage.  Kenneth Carlson, co-director of the Colorado Energy-Water Consortium, was interviewed for a recent Greeley Tribune article.  The article explains that 0.1 percent of water diverted for beneficial use will be used for fracking over the 5 year span from 2010 to 2015.

Based on water usage, it turns out the new horizontal wells are more efficient than the directional or vertical wells that used to dominate the drilling along the Front Range.  This water is required to be pumped into the well casing at very high pressures to fracture the production target zones.  The water that is flushed back out has to be treated or disposed of.  New technologies are emerging to potentially treat this water so it can be reused rather than being pumped into the ground, where it is essential no longer available for use.

For more information on treating fracking water, please contact rick@baselinecorp.com.