I’ve been invited to speak at the American Water Resources Association - Colorado section event on August 28th in Denver, Colo. I’ll be talking about how much water is needed each year to drill and hydraulically fracture (“frack”) new oil and gas wells. It’s enough to meet the residential needs of the cities of Fort Collins or Lakewood (Colorado’s 4th and 5th largest cities) when reuse is included. I will put that in context by discussing how many families could be served with that water.
Western Resource Advocates also has recommendations on how better water use data collection – and public access to those data – is needed to help understand and balance energy’s water needs with other uses. In our semi-arid state with limited water resources that must be shared by a wide variety of water users, and in this time of drought, the impacts of the volumes of water needed for oil and gas development must be evaluated and better planned for.
Check out our report for more information about this pressing topic as we enter this new era of oil and gas development in the West.
