Water Environment Federation | Fracking Fact Sheet 1

Hydraulic fracturing operations (commonly known as fracking) will continue to be part of U.S. energy production and likely remain a controversial process in generating energy. Water resource recovery facilities (WRRFs) — frequently referred to as publicly owned treatment works — will be asked to manage water from fracking operations, and a thoughtful, comprehensive evaluation of the water characteristics, regulatory requirements, and a facility’s ability to manage the waste constituents will be required prior to acceptance. Background The purpose of this fact sheet is to provide information to WRRF owners and operators who are considering accepting fracking wastewater at their facilities. It does not speak to other environmental issues associated with fracking, including the effects of drilling, well production, and groundwater impacts. In many ways, fracking-water acceptance at WRRFs should be managed in a manner similar to other industrial wastes, but there are some unique constituents within this wastestream about which utility personnel should be aware. Public concerns and reaction to fracking water are “hot button ” issues, and municipal officials will likely treat fracking with greater scrutiny. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and state regulators have specifically identified fracking discharges for increased scrutiny and regulation. What is fracking water? Fracking water is water generated at gas wells from the forced fracturing of shale formations. Natural gas occurs in fractures in the pore spaces between individual mineral grains and may be chemically adsorbed onto organic matter (Soeder, 1988). To increase the pathway for gas, water, along with chemical and physical agents, is pumped at high pressure into the well, opening the fractures in the shale and developing a flow path for the gas to escape