Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Growing Competitive Pressures for Water

This Ceres research paper analyzes water use in hydraulic fracturing operations across the United States and the extent to which this activity is taking place in water stressed regions. It provides an overview of efforts underway, such as the use of recycled water and nonfreshwaterresources, to mitigate these impacts and suggests key questions that industry, water managers and investors should be asking. The research is based on well data available at FracFocus.org and water stress indicator maps developed by the World Resources Institute.FracFocus data was collected for more than 25,000 tight oil (sometimes referred to as shaleoil) and shale gas wells in operation from January 2011 through September 2012. The research shows that 65.8 billion gallons of water was used, representing the water use of 2.5 million Americans for a year. Nearly half (47 percent) of the wells were developed in water basinswith high or extremely high water stress. In Colorado, 92 percent of the 3,862 wells were inextremely high water stress areas. In Texas, which accounts for nearly half of the total number of wells analyzed, 5,891 of its 11,634 wells (51 percent) were in high or extremely high waterstress areas. Extremely high water stress means over 80 percent of available water is already being withdrawn for municipal, industrial and agricultural uses.The research paper provides valuable insights about potential water use/water supply conflicts and risks, especially in basins with intense hydraulic fracturing activity and water supply constraints (due to water stress and/or drought). Given projected sharp increases in production in the coming years and the potentially intense nature of local water demands,competition and conflicts over water should be a growing concern for companies, policymakers and investors. Prolonged drought conditions in many parts of Texas and Colorado last summer created increased competition and conflict between farmers, communities and energy developers, which is only likely to continue. In areas such as Colorado and North Dakota,industry has been able to secure water supplies by paying a higher premium for water thanother users or by getting temporary permits. Neither of these practices can be guaranteed to work in the future, however. Even in wetter regions of the northeast United States, dozens of water permits granted to operators had to be withdrawn last summer due to low levels in environmentally vulnerable headwater streams.The bottom line: shale energy development cannot grow without water, but in order to do so the industry's water needs and impacts need to be better understood, measured and managed. A key question investors should be asking is whether water management planning is getting sufficient attention from both industry and regulators

Hydraulic Fracturing & Water Stress: Water Demand by the Numbers

This research paper analyzes escalating water demand in hydraulic fracturing operations across the United States and western Canada. It evaluates oil and gas company water use in eight regions with intense shale energy development and the most pronounced water stress challenges. The report also provides recommendations to investors, lenders and shale energy companies for mitigating their exposure to water sourcing risks, including improvement of on-the-ground practices. The research is based on well data available at FracFocus.org and water stress indicator maps developed by the World Resources Institute, where water stress denotes the level of competition for water in a given region

The effect of litter accumulation of the invasive cattail Typha x glauca on a Great Lakes coastal marsh

By mimicking an invasion of Typha x glauca in experimental mesocosms, I was able to study how this invasive plant impacts a native wetland community and the role its litter plays in its invasion success. I found that post-invasion, Typha x glauca litter had a strong negative effect on density, biomass and species diversity of the native plant community. Typha litter suppressed the native community through the modification of both the physical and the biogeochemical environment. Physical variables, such as soil temperature, fluctuated less and were on average cooler under litter. Light penetration under litter was significantly lower. Chemical variables were also modified; litter led to higher organic nitrogen mineralization rates and higher leaf tissue nitrogen levels. In a litter-bag transplant experiment in Cheboygan Marsh, on the border of Lake Huron, I sought to determine how and why Typha x glauca litter accumulates and persists while native plant litter does not. One key factor contributing to Typha x glauca litter accumulation was far-slower decomposition rates of litter from all plant species in Typha-dominated microhabitats. After 422 days of decay, litter bags in the invaded zone had nearly double the mass of those deployed in the native zone. The microenvironment in the invaded zone was conducive to slow decomposition with an absence of standing water, cooler soils and lower levels of bacterial biomass and productivity. In addition, species-specific traits of Typha x glauca seemed to slow litter decay. Typha x glauca litter has relatively high C:N and low surface area to volume in leaf and stem morphology, both traits likely inhibit bacterial activity and therefore decomposition

Mechanisms of Dominance by the Invasive Hybrid Cattail Typha × Glauca

The mechanisms by which invasive plants displace native species are often not well elucidated, limiting knowledge of invasion dynamics and the scientific basis for management responses. Typha × glauca Godr. invades wetlands throughout much of North America. Like other problematic wetland invaders, Typha is large, grows densely, and leaves behind copious litter. It thus has the potential to impact wetlands both in life and after death. We assessed patterns in field settings and used simulated wetland-plant communities to experimentally test abiotic and community responses to live Typha, Typha litter, and water-level differences (confounded in the field) using a full-factorial design. In general, litter was a stronger driver of change than live Typha. The greatest impacts were seen where, as in nature, live and dead Typha co-occurred. Live-Typha treatments did not differ from controls in light or temperature conditions but did reduce community biomass and alter community composition. Litter strongly affected light, temperature and its variability, community and species-level plant biomass, and community composition. Interactions between live Typha and litter affected aspects of plant-community composition. Advantageously for Typha, interspecific litter effects were not mirrored by intraspecific suppression of live Typha. These findings clarify how Typha is such an effective invader. Similar mechanisms are likely involved in invasions by other plant species, particularly in wetlands. Managers should respond quickly to new Typha invasions and, when dealing with established stands, remove litter in addition to eradicating live plants