{"id":12204,"date":"2013-12-04T11:58:14","date_gmt":"2013-12-04T11:58:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/praag.org\/?p=12204"},"modified":"2013-12-04T11:58:14","modified_gmt":"2013-12-04T11:58:14","slug":"water-uk-admits-fracking-compromises-water-supply","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/praag.org\/?p=12204","title":{"rendered":"Water UK admits fracking compromises water supply"},"content":{"rendered":"

Two industry groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that their members will minimize the impact of onshore oil and gas development in the UK on the country\u2019s water resources.The memorandum accompanies a report released by Water UK. The report concludes that \u201dwhere water is in short supply there may not be enough available from public water supplies or the environment to meet the requirements for hydraulic fracturing.\u201dWhile the aim of the mutual agreement was to give the public greater confidence and reassurance that everything will be done to minimize the effects on water resources and the environment during fracking, some organizations are speaking out against agreement.<\/p>\n

\u201cWater is a key concern for people in areas where drilling is proposed, particularly among farmers, who\u2019re worried for their livestock,\u201d said Greenpeace energy spokesperson Anna Jones. \u201dA voluntary agreement between Water UK and its major new client is unlikely to alleviate these concerns.<\/p>\n

Under the memorandum, members of Water UK and UK Onshore Operators Group pledge to work together to identify and resolve risks around water or wastewater including:<\/p>\n

Baseline monitoring requirements to assess impacts of onshore oil and gas development on the quality and quantity of local water resources.<\/p>\n

Plans relating to site water management, especially water reuse, to improve understanding of local impacts.<\/p>\n

Onshore oil and gas company development plans, including scenarios for expansion of exploration and development within a local area and what this means for short and long-term demand for water at specific locations.<\/p>\n

The expected volumes and chemical and biological composition of waste water as well as preferred disposal routes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis agreement acknowledges that fracking will impact and affect the UK\u2019s water resources and environment,\u201d Jones said. But she also warns, \u201cyou will never regulate away the risks of fracking.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"fracking\"<\/a>The UK is not the only nation feeling a strain on water resources from the fracking boom. In the U.S. record temperatures this summer led to water shortages and drought in states like Texas and Colorado.<\/p>\n

According to an AP analysis, the vast majority of counties in these states have fracking operations. In October, a report was released showing that the volumes of water used for fracking in the Marcellus Shale states of West Virginia and Pennsylvania are putting a major strain on freshwater reserves.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe desperate search for shale gas and oil mustn\u2019t be allowed to cause water shortages for critical public purposes,\u201d said Tony Bosworth, a campaigner.<\/p>\n

\u201cFracking is not the solution to our energy problems\u2014it won\u2019t lead to cheaper energy bills,\u201d Bosworth said. \u201cThe government should pull the plug on its dash for dirty shale gas and develop Britain\u2019s plentiful renewable power potential.\u201d – wakingtimes.com<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Two industry groups signed a Memorandum of Understanding stating that their members will minimize the impact of onshore oil and gas development in the UK on the country\u2019s water resources.The memorandum accompanies a report released by Water UK. The report concludes that \u201dwhere water is in short supply there may not be enough available from … Continue reading “Water UK admits fracking compromises water supply”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12205,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[49,3],"tags":[3223,1206,1649,7724,7723],"class_list":["post-12204","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-europe","category-news","tag-drought","tag-fracking","tag-shale-gas","tag-water-shortages","tag-wateruk"],"cc_featured_image_caption":{"caption_text":false,"source_text":false,"source_url":false},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/praag.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/12\/fracking.jpeg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12204"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12206,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12204\/revisions\/12206"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12205"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12204"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12204"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/praag.org\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12204"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}