No matter what side of the fence you sit on, enough data exists out there to make even the most adamant proponent of natural gas drilling agree with the idea that water testing needs to take place before, during and after natural gas drilling — if for no other reason than to prove a problem does not exist.

Recently we came across the second portion of an article posted by the Penn State Cooperative Extension which gives some solid advice on the topic of private well testing, when and by whom it ought to get done.

Moral of the story?

Unless you have a baseline reading of, at the very least, basic water quality parameters before any drilling activity takes place, anything that shows up in your water after drilling starts could, as far as the gas company’s lawyers will say, have existed in the water before their client’s employees ever set foot on the property.

Also, the more thorough the analysis, the better. Spring for the most comprehensive water test you can afford because the more you know about your water before drilling takes place, the better your chances of convincing a Court of Law that a problem exists as a result of drilling later.

In this case, the USEPA has discovered that it has reason to take a closer look at the quality of water in a region of Colorado. Folks interested in the effects of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) on the environment may want to keep an eye on this story as it develops.

(CNN) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency investigating drinking water contamination in Pavillion, Wyoming, found benzene and methane in wells and in groundwater, agency officials said.

At a community meeting with well owners, EPA officials revealed Tuesday they found low levels of petroleum compounds in 17 of 19 drinking water wells sampled, and that nearby shallow groundwater was contaminated with high levels of petroleum compounds such as benzene, according to the report.

The affected well owners were advised not to drink the water at the recommendation of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and told to use alternate sources of water for drinking and cooking, agency officials said.

Meanwhile, the EPA is working with various government partners and EnCana, a natural gas company, to provide affected residents with water and to address potential sources of the contamination, agency officials said.

The study included sampling 21 domestic wells within the area of concern, two municipal wells, plus sediment and water from a nearby creek. The EPA also sampled groundwater and soil from pit remediation sites, and produced water and condensate from five production wells operated by the primary natural gas operator in the area, agency officials said.

No health concerns were found related to inhalation exposure to chemicals while showering or using evaporative coolers, agency officials said.

The EPA has not reached any conclusions about the sources of chemical compounds found in drinking water wells, including hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” the controversial process used to extract natural gas from underground, agency officials said.

Officials are uncertain if the contaminated shallow groundwater will migrate to the drinking water aquifer, according to the report.

…

In spring 2008, residents of Pavillion — concerned about the quality of their drinking water — contacted the EPA in Denver, Colorado. The agency sampled 39 individual wells (37 residential wells and two municipal wells) in March 2009 and found nitrate, arsenic and methane gas. The agency conducted the second sampling in January 2010.( source )

These findings may make more people think twice about letting gas companies drill natural gas in their area… even though no conclusive proof has come to light that ‘fracking’ has contributed to the contamination of this area’s water supply.

Should more people test their well water?

Whether you live in an area whose water supply could potentially become affected by ‘fracking’ or any other industrial process or not, well owners should test the water coming out of their wells on a regular basis.

Any natural that causes a shift in the water table can potentially cause unwanted, and usually unexpected, contaminants to enter the water supply. For example: Both heavy amounts of rain and long periods without rain can result in changes to the quality of water going into the aquifer… which means the quality of water drawn from the aquifer by wells will also change.

What are common well water contaminants?

Every area has different concerns, but as a general rule most well owners will, at the very least, test for contaminants such as arsenic, chromium, copper, lead, iron, nitrates & nitrites, and bacteria.

A properly constructed and maintained household-supply well will provide you with many years of quality service. The National Ground Water Association recommends routine annual maintenance checks to ensure the proper operation of the well and prolong its years of service, as well as monitor the water quality. ( source )

Jun. 7 — Surface water and water wells near pending natural gas drilling operations should be tested before any drilling starts, Scott Fickbohm, manager of Otsego County’s Soil & Water District, said.

“We need baseline tests if we’re going to be able to show that any changes have occurred,” Fickbohm said Friday.

In his agency, he and one other staff member could work part-time at monitoring surface water in the county, he said. The Soil & Water District does not have the means to test thousands of water wells, “but I’m working on a database to try to let people know where they can get their water tested, and how much it will cost,” he said.

Costs will depend on how comprehensive the tests are. “I’ve heard everything from hundreds to thousands of dollars,” he said.

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The state may mandate that drilling firms pay for baseline testing of water wells within a certain distance of a drilling operation, he noted.

Although the state’s rules have yet to be issued, Soil & Water is preparing for its upcoming duties because it cannot wait, Fickbohm said.

“We’re taking our lead from the SRBC,” he said.

The Susquehanna River Basin Commission is monitoring the Susquehanna River in Pennsylvania for conductivity and Ph values because when these values change they may indicate the river is being polluted, he said.

“Conductivity is the presence of ions in the water, and that’s likely to pick up any change in salinity,” he said.

In their quest for shale gas, companies are drilling thousands of feet down into a zone where there are pockets of saline water, Fickbohm said. A change in the river’s saline levels might mean that brackish water from the depths has reached the river, the largest source of fresh water in the Chesapeake Bay. ( source )

Testing for Conductivity

Conductivity testing typically gets done with the use of a conductivity meter. You will find examples of several popular conductivity meters below.

Product Name	Model
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999 µS Water Quality Meter (WA300) with Remote Sensor Probe & 36″ Lead	WA300
Conductivity Meter: Digital 0 to 1999µS (PWA-301) with Integral Sensor Tip & Protective Cap	PWA-301
Conductivity Meter: Digital Pen Style 10 to 9990 µS/cm (CO502) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	CO502
Conductivity TDS Meter: Digital (CDM22CT) with Built-In Thermometer	DCM22CT
Electrical Conductivity EC Meter: Digital 0 to 20.0 EC (EC506) ATC with Calibration Solution, Screwdriver & Hard Case	EC506
pH/ORP/Temperature Conductivity Combination Digital Water Testing Meter (DPHO1380K) with Software & Carrying Case	DPHO1380K

While this article mentioned conductivity as a means of testing for changes in surface water’s salinity, other testing methods such as TDS meters, salt (chloride) meters and/or chloride test strips may work as well, but their effectiveness, we believe, may get limited by their detection ranges.

Bryan Swistock, Penn State water resources specialist, is studying connections between brine water, water used for the drilling process and drinking water supplies.

One thing he recommends is that property owners get it stated in their lease that the drill site has to be at least 500 feet from a water supply. He added Pennsylvania law states it only has to be 200 feet, but that may not be enough.

After the permit is issued, the only notice given about the commencement of drilling will be to anyone with their drinking water supply within 1,000 feet of the drilling location. They will be notified within 24 hours of the drilling to begin.

Another tip he gives homeowners is to get their water tested by a state certified water testing lab prior to drilling, even if the site is not on their property and even if they are outside of the 500-feet zone. He said that will be the only way to prove something happened to the supply during the drilling.

After the drilling is complete, get another sample taken and tested.

Brine water disposal. Swistock also talked about the use of brine water at the drilling site and storage of the liquid on the property. He said it is very important to keep it away from drinking water areas.

He said millions of gallons of water will be needed for the drilling process and it is important to plan ahead and find out where the company plans to store the fluids.

Swistock added only 30 percent of what the company uses to drill will resurface within a couple of months and not enough studies have been completed to find out when and where the remaining water will resurface in the future. ( )

In a nutshell, Swistock seems to believe we do not know enough about the effects of natural gas drilling on water supplies in the region to safely say that ‘nothing bad will happen’ and that only testing of local and semi-local water supplies before, during and after the drilling will have the ability to demonstrate proof of changes in water quality — if any show up.

Note that he mentioned using a ‘state certified water testing lab’ for the testing. Not only will this help to ensure the testing gets done by qualified water testing analysts, but it also pretty much guarantees impartiality… which could come in handy if the test results ever need to get entered as data in a Court case down the road.

For a list of certified water testing labs in your area, contact the State Certification Officer in your state. You can find each state officer’s contact information listed on this page.

As another option, you can always contract out with an independent water testing company such as National Testing Laboratories which uses EPA and standard methods to test drinking water and has certification in most US States.