Hydraulic Fracturing and Water Use

Figure 10.7

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Kathy Hibbard

This figure appears in chapter 10 of the Climate Change Impacts in the United States: The Third National Climate Assessment report.

http://nca2014.globalchange.gov/report/sectors/energy-water-and-land/graphics/hydraulic-fracturing-and-water-use

Hydraulic fracturing, a drilling method used to retrieve deep reservoirs of natural gas, uses large quantities of water, sand, and chemicals that are injected at high pressure into horizontally-drilled wells as deep as 10,000 feet below Earth’s surface. The pressurized mixture causes the rock layer to crack. Sand particles hold the fissures open so that natural gas from the shale can flow into the well. Questions about the water quantity necessary for this extraction method as well as the potential to affect water quality have produced national debate. (Figure source: NOAA NCDC).

When citing this figure, please reference NOAA NCDC.

This figure was created on November 21, 2013.

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