Title: Water industry warns it may not match demands of public supply and fracking
Author: ClickGreen staff
Publication: Environmental News Network
Date: November 27th 2013
Water UK, which represents the water industry, admitted in a report that there may not be enough water to effectively support the public and meet demands while also supporting fracking operations.
This statement was released by the water industry after a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Onshore Operators Group in which all of the members agreed to cooperate in shale gas exploration and extraction processes.
One of the key aims of the agreement is to give the public more insight into what is being done to help the water resources and the environment and reassure them that action is being taken.
Through reviewing recent reports of shale gas extraction, Water UK has concluded that while there are risks to water as a resource, this can be helped through enforcement of regulatory framework.
The organisation also highlighted the risks related to fracking, especially since those are not yet fully understood. It explained that "The pressure on local water resources will depend in part on the pace and extent of shale gas extraction, although the potential to reclaim and reuse large proportions of water from each site promises to significantly mitigate the risks to local water resources.
However, where water is in short supply there may not be enough available from public water supplies or the environment to meet the requirements for hydraulic fracturing.
Shale gas companies should therefore engage with water companies as early as possible to ensure their needs can be met without reducing the security of supply to existing customers."
Furthermore, they appealed to the government of the United Kingdom to consider introducing legislation that would ensure that British water undertakers are consulted in planning processes for onshore oil and gas exploration and development. This way, water companies would gain important information about future extraction sites and would have enough time to make sure that all risks are understood and examined, and that the protection of water and the environment is prioritised.
I thought this would be an important article to consider, as we are discussing water as a resource in class at the moment. We have learned how unsustainable the resource is being used and that there is a danger of it running out, and this article is yet another proof of that. I think that this is an incredibly important issue and so attention should be drawn to it, which is why I chose this article
Author: ClickGreen staff
Publication: Environmental News Network
Date: November 27th 2013
Water UK, which represents the water industry, admitted in a report that there may not be enough water to effectively support the public and meet demands while also supporting fracking operations.
This statement was released by the water industry after a Memorandum of Understanding with the UK Onshore Operators Group in which all of the members agreed to cooperate in shale gas exploration and extraction processes.
One of the key aims of the agreement is to give the public more insight into what is being done to help the water resources and the environment and reassure them that action is being taken.
Through reviewing recent reports of shale gas extraction, Water UK has concluded that while there are risks to water as a resource, this can be helped through enforcement of regulatory framework.
The organisation also highlighted the risks related to fracking, especially since those are not yet fully understood. It explained that "The pressure on local water resources will depend in part on the pace and extent of shale gas extraction, although the potential to reclaim and reuse large proportions of water from each site promises to significantly mitigate the risks to local water resources.
However, where water is in short supply there may not be enough available from public water supplies or the environment to meet the requirements for hydraulic fracturing.
Shale gas companies should therefore engage with water companies as early as possible to ensure their needs can be met without reducing the security of supply to existing customers."
Furthermore, they appealed to the government of the United Kingdom to consider introducing legislation that would ensure that British water undertakers are consulted in planning processes for onshore oil and gas exploration and development. This way, water companies would gain important information about future extraction sites and would have enough time to make sure that all risks are understood and examined, and that the protection of water and the environment is prioritised.
I thought this would be an important article to consider, as we are discussing water as a resource in class at the moment. We have learned how unsustainable the resource is being used and that there is a danger of it running out, and this article is yet another proof of that. I think that this is an incredibly important issue and so attention should be drawn to it, which is why I chose this article
There is that word again which Travis also wrote about. Fracking in this case is to push out natural gases which have been building up in shale (a type of metamorphic rock). It is not enough that we have an overgrowing population and higher demand for fresh water but we are also using fresh water for exploitation of other resources as well. I agree with you, that this is incredibly important and should be discussed.
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