Misplaced Argument: Other Sources of Energy Use More Water than Natural Gas

Requiring anywhere from five to seven million gallons of fresh water per well, there’s no doubt that hydraulic fracturing uses a great deal of water. The amount of water necessary for a single well has long been criticized by many anti-fracking groups, and Los Angeles Councilmember Mike Bonin justified banning fracking in California based on the rationale that fracking “uses excessive amounts of water in a drought.” (Image Courtesy of Energy Policy Research Foundation Inc.).

Compared to the 2,500 gallons of water per MMBtu (one million British Thermal Units) required by biofuels (fuels that convert recently living organisms into energy), fracking requires only 1.25 gallons of water per MMBtu. Surprised? In fact, there are a number of other energy sources that require more fresh water that natural gas drilling.

And not only does fracking require less water than these other “renewable” fuel sources, it also uses less water than many other conventional activities. For example, Rusty Todd, professor at the University of Texas (Austin) wrote in the Wall Street Journal this summer that, “[n]ationwide, the [Environmental Protection Agency] estimates that landscape irrigation consumes about nine billion gallons of water a day. That’s more than three trillion gallons a year, or more than 20 times its highest estimate for the amount of water used annually in fracking.” Another example: it takes twice as much water to maintain a golf course for a month than to frack a natural gas well.

These statistics demonstrate that a great deal of the information regarding hydraulic fracturing and that is being provided to the public is misleading at best and downright incorrect at worst. Yet what is even more troubling is that these same statistics are also being used to pass fanatical regulations restricting vital aspects – such as water usage – of the hydraulic fracturing process.

However, some statistics regarding hydraulic fracturing are accurate. For example, the natural gas industry has injected $300-$400 billion into America’s economy on a yearly basis. This increased the nation’s GDP, decreased the nation’s unemployment rate, and arguably propelled the economy out of a recession. Specifically, jobs in the oil and gas sector have increased by 40% since 2007, while overall U.S. employment is still 850,000 jobs below 2007 levels. This effect has been felt outside of the oil and gas industry, with over 2 million jobs created in areas that support the energy industry. Additionally, the energy industry has also been making greater efforts to recycle all of the reclaimed fracking fluid in an effort to decrease fracking’s overall water consumption.

Overall, this comparison of the water used by hydraulic fracturing to that consumed by biofuels and other fuel sources demonstrates the age-old danger of relying solely on statistics without any context. When presented absent any background, it is easy to gasp at the amount of water consumed by hydraulic fracturing. Before making such sweeping generalizations, it is important that Americans understand the facts. It is undeniable that the natural gas industry uses a large amount of fresh water to operate its facilities and fracture natural gas deposits. However, it is also undeniable that other energy sources use just as much and more fresh water as well. The argument against the natural gas industry is misplaced – the real issue is how to cut back on the use of fresh water among ALL energy sources, not just the natural gas industry.