Flowback and Produced Water from Hydraulic Fracturing Disrupts Small Organisms After Acute 48-Hour Exposure, Presumably from Spills or Open Pits That Remain Open: Not Unexpected

 

     As reported by Inside Climate News, referencing a paper in Environmental Science & Technology, fracking flowback and produced water (FPW) can affect small organisms, causing increased mortality and lingering effects for weeks afterward. This is, of course, not unexpected, and probably not a big deal overall, with the exception of spills. We have long known FPW can be detrimental to plant and animal life, especially the high salinity produced water component that comes from the formations underground. The flowback water at first mostly consists of the “makeup water” which refers to the freshwater with added components like surfactants, scale inhibitors, corrosion inhibitors, biocides mainly for bacteria, gelling components, and a few other chemical additives, all at very low concentrations. The makeup water is typically much more environmentally benign than the produced water. The researchers obtained a sample of FPW from a Montney Shale well in Alberta, Canada and did their study.

     The Inside Climate News article noted significant amounts of spills reported up to 2012 or 2014 but did not note that the number of spills today is much smaller for two reasons: better management of FPW and less wells so less overall FPW, even though wells are longer now which offsets the lesser amount of water somewhat. Better FPW management includes better spill prevention and containment. They also noted from another report that water from 113 of those spills entered freshwater lakes and streams, where they were obviously further diluted by great magnitudes.

     The study in Environmental Science and Technology did note that significant mortality after 19 days, close to 70%, of water fleas (genus Daphnia) occurred in the concentrated water, and about 50% in the less concentrated water that simulated downstream exposure. While I don’t know the lifespans of these creatures, I can guess that they die of other reasons as well. Salt in the water was likely the most toxic component, although they noted that surfactants in the water caused some of the water fleas to get stuck on the water, unable to move and to dry out until they died. The researchers also noted that toxicity of FWP varies from well to well but the well they used was on the more toxic side. Thus, it may overestimate the toxicity of the FPW of an average well.

     Inside Climate News notes that California uses FWP for irrigation. I’m pretty sure this is post-treatment water, which does not resemble untreated water. After all, it has also been approved by California regulators, among the strictest regulators in the U.S. It is also used as a dust suppressant on roads in some states and as road salt in some states. We do know that that use has effects on some waterways. Normal road salt has negatively affected bodies of water in northern states like Minnesota. High concentrations of salt are toxic to plant and animal life and can render some lakes and streams less amenable to life. They and the leaders of the study complained that oil and gas companies are not transparent enough with their wastewater components and toxicity and cite proprietary formulas. I do not believe that is still the case in general and as noted it is the produced water, with salts and heavy metals that is most toxic, not the added chemicals to the makeup water. In any case, with better management of FPW there should continue to be less spills. Of course, all spills are a matter of concern and should be prevented as much as possible, remediated as quickly and as best as possible, and impacted areas should be monitored until toxicity is no longer present.

 

References:

 

Fracking Wastewater Causes Lasting Harm to Key Freshwater Species. Liza Gross. February 21, 2023. Inside Climate News. Fracking Wastewater Causes Lasting Harm to Key Freshwater Species - Inside Climate News

 

Persisting Effects in Daphnia magna Following an Acute Exposure to Flowback and Produced Waters from the Montney Formation. American Chemical Society. Environmental Science & Technology. Aaron Boyd, Ivy Luu, Devang Mehta, Sunil P. Myers, Connor B. Stewart, Karthik R. Shivakumar, Katherine N. Snihur, Daniel S. Alessi, Maria Camila Rodriguez Gallo, Heather Veilleux, Marin E. Wiltse, Thomas Borch, R. Glen Uhrig, and Tamzin A. Blewett* Persisting Effects in Daphnia magna Following an Acute Exposure to Flowback and Produced Waters from the Montney Formation | Environmental Science & Technology (acs.org) https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.est.2c07441