Though it may get redundant, we will continue to post articles about water quality and a technique called hydraulic fracturing (also known as ‘fracking’) used to drill for oil. Many people have grave concerns that the process may cause permanent and irreparable damage to the environment.
Some folks in North Dakota know all too well that bad things could possibly happen as a result of fracking because an oil well in their area recently developed a crack in its casing which caused 2,500 barrels of liquid to spew up from he well before workers could seal the well completely using a ‘heavy mud’ and cement plugs.
Diagnostic testing will begin today on an oil well that was breached early Wednesday morning 2½ miles southwest of Killdeer.
One state official says preliminary tests on water samples look good.
During a high pressured oil extraction phase involving water and chemicals, a process known as hydraulic fracturing, a mechanical failure caused a breach in the oil well’s 9.5-inch and a 7-inch casing, both surrounded by cement.
After the breach, the well known as Franchuk 44-20, began leaking oil and other liquids at the surface.
The leaking fluids were confined to the location, and all recoverable fluids were removed by vacuum trucks, according to a Denbury Resources Inc. press release.
A heavy mud and later three cement plugs were pumped into the well, at a depth of about 7,200 feet to 9,200 feet, creating a successful plug Friday, according to the release.
More than 2,500 barrels of liquid were gathered, including 2,255 barrels of frac fluid and 251 barrels of oil, according to the release.
State health department officials are involved as the well was drilled through the Killdeer Aquifer and sits near Spring Creek.
Dennis Fewless, director of the state’s Department of Health water quality division, said of the five wells sampled Thursday, preliminary results show “everything is normal.”
Fewless said the state laboratory will continue analyzing and testing samples through the weekend. ( source )
All of us here at Water Testing Blog hope the workers at that well escaped without injury when the well casing broke and all that nasty fluid came charging to the surface.
We also hope that the crews assigned to cap the well and clean up afterward did as thorough and complete a job as possible.
Water filter to remove hydrocarbons & oil from drinking water?
Yes. Such a product does exist. All the discussions about whether or not hydraulic fracturing (fracking) will have adverse effects on the quality of drinking water in surrounding areas have pushed some people previously on the fence about buying a water filter in the direction of investing in a water filtration system — and naturally they want to purchase a water filter capable of removing hydrocarbons and oils from drinking water.
Lucky for them, and you, that a leading manufacturer of home water quality improvement systems by the name of Crystal Quest came out with an 8-stage undersink water filtration system that has the ability to remove the following hundreds of contaminants, including hydrocarbons, oil, volatile organic compounds (VOC’s) and organic contaminants such as bacteria and viruses.
Using advanced technologies in membranes, blended coconut granulated carbon w/ several grades of REDOX media and other water purification techniques such as ultrafiltration, the Crystal Quest Undersink Triple Filter produces water whose quality rivals that of reverse osmosis water — without the tank and without any waste water.
- Three filter chambers provide 8 stages of water filtration. See below for details.
- Filter in the first chamber uses an ultrafiltration membrane to remove contaminants larger than 0.01 micron… which includes a wide range of organics such as bacteria and viruses, proteins, parasites, various forms of bacteria, pesticides and herbicides.
- Filter in the second chamber uses a custom blend of granulated activated carbon derived from coconut shell to remove volatile organic carbon compounds (VOC’s), insecticides, pesticides, and industrial solvents. This chamber also adsorbs the taste and odors associated with chlorine.
- Filter in the third chamber uses a 6-stage cartridge which removes hundreds of contaminants from the water.
Another advantage of using an undersink filter like this one: It installs quickly and easily and takes up no valuable counter space.
Looking for an oil removal filter for a ‘Big Blue’ housing?
Pentek (also known as Ametek & US Filter) manufactures the Big Blue Filter for Oils & Hydrocarbons which fits most standard 20″ Big Blue filter housings.
