There have been roughly 8,000 Marcellus wells drilled in Pennsylvania, though since that number is always growing, we encourage you to consult updated Pa. Department of Environmental Protection records, which include the number of wells drilled in each county and by each operator; the amount of natural gas produced by each well; the number of well permit applications received; and the number of well site inspections conducted, among other things. It is also important to keep in mind that multiple wells can exist on each site.
The average Marcellus Shale well uses between 2 and 4 million gallons of water. The hydraulic fracturing fluid is composed of 99.5 percent water and sand, along with certain chemical additives to prevent corrosion of pipe; eliminate bacteria in the water; thicken the water; and minimize friction, among other uses.
Remaining water is captured and stored for treatment or disposal. Emerging technology allows operators to use fewer additives and recycle up to 100 percent of their flowback water in one of several ways.
One option is to treat the flowback water on site for reuse with an oxidation system that removes the dissolved solid material from the flowback. Another disposal option involves injecting the excess water into permitted deep injection wells off site. A third option is for flowback water to be disposed into bodies of existing water; however, the Pa. Department of Environmental Protection dictates that flowback must meet state drinking water standards and be treated to have a total dissolved solids (TDS) concentration of 500 parts per million or less before being discharged into bodies of surface water.
The number of trucks used to operate each well varies. If you have questions or concerns about a specific operator’s use of trucks and the company is a Marcellus Shale Coalition member, we encourage you to contact them directly.
