Small Community, Big Problem

Would you want your water source to contain diesel fuel? How about having an unlined wastewater pond nearby that contains chemicals like benzene and xylene? Fracking fluids in your morning beverage?

A case study of a small Wyoming town reveals that practices common in the fracking industry may have widespread impacts on drinking water resources.  Residents of Pavillion, WY, had concerns when their drinking water became fouled in both taste and odor. So they complained, and in 2011 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency issued a report that put the 231 residents directly in the middle of the expanding debate over hydraulic fracturing, or as it is commonly known, “fracking.”

 

“The EPA report, which linked shallow fracking to toxic compounds in aquifers, was met with heavy criticism from the drilling industry as well as state oil and gas regulators. Three years later, having never finalized its findings, #EPA turned its investigation over to Wyoming. The state released a series of reports without firm conclusions, and, as of last month, has said it has no firm plans to take further action. In the meantime, the federal Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry has advised area residents to avoid bathing, cooking or drinking with water from their taps,” says an article in the Stanford News. On March 29, 2016, Stanford University published a new study in Environmental Science & Technology that finds the Pavillion #fracking operations “have had clear impact to underground sources of drinking water.”

 

While this is only one community’s story, there are myriad news articles and information indicating that fracking creates widespread impact to our underground water supply. As Rob Jackson, Co-author of the #Stanford study, states, “There are no rules that would stop a company from doing this anywhere else.”  Jackson also states, “The EPA has consistently walked away from investigations where people and the environment appear to have been harmed" by fracking's impact on groundwater.”  And lead author Dominic DiGiulio adds, "This is a wake-up call.  It's perfectly legal to inject stimulation fluids into underground drinking water resources. This may be causing widespread impacts on drinking water resources."

 

The only way to ensure your water source is protected against fracking fluids that are a toxic mix of chemicals, fuels, and acids, is to use a point-of-use water filter such as a Multipure Drinking Water System.  Each member of the Multipure family of Drinking Water Systems employs submicron (0.5 micron) solid carbon block technology that uses mechanical filtration, electrokinetic adsorption and chemical/physical adsorption processes.  The #carbon filtration performance is independently tested and certified by NSF International. Every #Multipure Drinking Water System also comes with its own Performance Data Sheet, which lists contaminants and the percent of reduction of each.