Hydraulic Fracturing

Gas Drilling – Impacts on Water Quality

YSI’s environmental monitoring systems can operate 24/7 to provide the “truth”--critical, real-time data on the conditions near hydrofracking sites. The systems can provide early warning for the accidental release of pollutants—or reassurance that water quality has not been affected.

For gas companies, drill operators, monitoring agencies, environmental consultants, or private citizens, it is critical to obtain high-resolution water quality data to provide an accurate picture of natural and unnatural changes in the area around the gas field.

Natural gas is quickly developing globally as an alternative to petroleum-based energy sources. The process of extracting gas from shale rock formations --called hydraulic fracturing or fracking--is also developing rapidly. Current extraction methods require large quantities of water from natural sources, and the various steps of the process may pose threats to human and environmental health if not controlled and monitored effectively.

Why Field Sensors

Unlike taking water samples from the field and sending them to a laboratory for analysis, the use of field sensors allow users to collect data in situ and obtain results immediately. The most common scenarios are:

•Sampling - A user carries a small handheld field sensor kit to various locations, dips the sensors in the water and records the measurements. A large area within the watershed can be covered quickly through sampling.
•Monitoring – A user sets up a sensor platform in the natural environment (groundwater, rivers, streams, lakes) and the system autonomously monitors at a predefined interval. This allows the user to collect many data points over time (a common interval is 15 minutes). Data can either be stored in the system or transmitted to a computer or to the web via a telemetry system.

Early Warning

Continuous data provides very different information than sampling for lab analysis. One example is early warning of events. The sensors used are capable of monitoring all key water quality parameters and a rapid change will often indicate an event is pending or occurring. The systems can be easily programmed to send email or SMS alarms as a threshold is reached. These systems are also able to monitor the ‘true’ variations in the environment by monitoring at a short interval. There are many short-term events (natural and unnatural) that are never detected because they occur between sampling times for lab analysis.

Key parameters for water quality monitoring in areas of shale gas development include:

Temperature

pH
Specific Conductance (conductivity/salinity)
Dissolved Oxygen
Total Dissolved Solids
Algae Biomass
Turbidity
Flow

YSI sensors can be scaled to meet budget and configured to meet monitoring needs, including:

•Establishing baseline data in areas prior to hydraulic fracturing
•Monitoring groundwater, streams and rivers for dewatering events during water extraction
•Monitoring ground water for methane or fracture fluid intrusion
•Monitoring erosion and sedimentation from land development
•Monitoring surface or ground water for flow-back fluid (well waste water) leakage or spills

Read article: Network Monitors Water Quality in Shale Gas Drilling Region