A recent media report on a peer-reviewed study based on 180 samples from water wells near Ohio fracking sites was headlined: “Univ. of Cincy fracking study finds surprising groundwater results.â€
What exactly was so surprising?
The report is one of more than two dozen scientific studies published since 2010 that concluded fracking is not a major threat to groundwater. No fewer than 10 peer-reviewed studies examining more than 3,000 water wells across virtually every major U.S. shale play have been released in the past five years, with each one finding no evidence of that fracking has contaminated groundwater.
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To put this another way, even though the claim that fracking contaminates groundwater continues to be a cornerstone of the “Keep It in the Ground†movement’s unrelenting campaign to undermine American energy production, there is simply no credible scientific evidence to support that claim.
The University of Cincinnati report states plainly that researchers “found no increase in methane concentration or composition in groundwater over the four years of the study, despite the presence of new shale gas wells drilled in the study area.†And this took place at a time when drilling surged: When the study period began in 2012, there were 115 drilling permits in the region. By the end of the study period, in 2015, there were more than 1,600 permits.
Basically, there wasn’t a shred of evidence that fracking contaminated water.
This was the complete opposite of what the researchers hypothesized, but to their credit, they openly accepted their findings. Unfortunately, the same could not be said for the anti-fracking groups that partially funded the study.
In 2016, the lead researcher announced at an anti-fracking group meeting: “I’m really sad to say this but some of our funders, the groups that had given us funding in the past, were a little disappointed in our results. They feel that fracking is scary, and so, they were hoping our data could point to a reason to ban it.â€
The two funders being referenced — the Deer Creek Foundation and Alice Weston Foundation — pulled financial support for the study soon thereafter.
Similarly, the Ohio Environmental Council has been radio silent on the study’s findings despite the fact that it awarded the researchers the “Science and Community Award†in 2014, back when it assumed the study would reach the conclusion they desired.
Unfortunately, silence is a recurring theme – and not just among anti-fracking groups. The national news media has largely ignored the UC study, and the two dozen-plus reports that have determined fracking is not a major threat to groundwater are also rarely mentioned whenever anti-fracking radicals make one another of their spurious, headline-grabbing claims.
In contrast, many media outlets have amplified the narrative that fracking poses an inherent threat to drinking water sources.
No wonder the results of this report were characterized as “surprising.†The public could be forgiven for thinking the science on fracking has concluded something far different than what empirical research has actually demonstrated.
Anti-fracking groups love to throw around the label “science deniers†to describe anyone who supports oil and gas development. Maybe they should take a look in the mirror.
Seth Whitehead is team lead for Energy In Depth, a research, education, and outreach program sponsored by the Independent Petroleum Association of America.
