Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Mark Curry on May 14, 2011 at 5:40pm

Rich,

You raise an excellent issue.  Our farm in Noble County has a couple of wells and I am encouraging my mother to get a detailed water test now.  I live in Maine, but our family farm is in Noble County.  In mt home town here in Maine, I am chair of our water district..we get a detailed water quality report annually, more if needed.  We contract with a Water Company that has locations around the country.  Our testing is done at a State Lab..by the Dept of Health.  I will do some research on how best to get this done in Ohio...but it should be done even if you don't sign a lease but your neighbors do as the aquifers know know boundaries!

 

Mark Curry

Permalink Reply by Rich Koehler on May 14, 2011 at 6:17pm

Our local landowners group is focused on protecting our land - Agriculture and eco tourism (sight-seeing, Amish stuff, birding, hunting, etc.) are big parts of the local economy and lifestyle.  We accept that the petroleum is there and will come out of the ground one way or another, but we are concerned about the environment first.

Permalink Reply by Utica Shale on May 14, 2011 at 11:52pm

List of 78 FRAC chemicals ...
http://marcellusdrilling.com/2010/06/list-of-78-chemicals-used-in-h...

150 Chemcial Test ...
http://www.e-watertest.com/water-testing-whatstested.html

165 Chemical Test ...
http://www.e-watertest.com/what-is-tested-in-priority-premium-165-t...

I have not yet cross-checked the lists to see if all FRAC chemicals are included in either test.
You would think eventually a Certified Lab will develop a FRAC Chemical test.

Permalink Reply by Rich Koehler on May 15, 2011 at 4:41pm

Thanks, Greg.  That list is pretty comprehensive.  I didn't read carefully, but there were a couple items, such as isopropanol, that I saw on the frac list that didn't jump out at me on the e-watertest list. 

Like you said, it seems logical that some lab would have a test battery specific to frac chemicals. 

As far as the chemicals migrating upward, folks should consider that there is a whole lot of pressure in those underground formations - apparently no one ever heard of a "gusher".  Also, simple capillarity can cause fluids to move into small spaces regardless of gravity.  The Sequioa's and Redwoods manage to move water 375 feet above the ground with no pumps involved.  If the layers are microscopically cracked, there is no reason fluids cannot move against the pull of gravity.  And "fluids" would include all items dissolved in the water, any gas in the formation, and oil. 

I don't want to be a pessimist here, but how well is the casing sealed against the surrounding rocks, and how well does that concrete seal withstand the violence and forces involved in fracing and pumping or containing an artesian flow?  I've worked with a lot of concrete over the years - much of it cracks and/or separates from what it's poured into or against.  Why should I blindly accept the idea that wells are going to be different and there will be zero leakage?

Permalink Reply by Brett R Oxley on May 16, 2011 at 10:47am

Mahoning County Board of Health does all of the water testing through an independent company in my county. Most all counties boards of health do their own testing. ( A huge money grab for them) They need to take the separate tests at anywhere from $100.00 per test for a basic low level , minimal materials test to, +$400.00 per test for a broader spectrum test. Their (Mahoning county)broader spectrum test does not test for any of the carcinogeninc materials used in fracking.  Multiply your test cost times three, to establish a beseline that will hold up in court if you are unfortunate enough to need it.

Permalink Reply by Utica Shale on May 16, 2011 at 2:36pm

We also need to be concerned about the "Chain of Custody". It is reccomended that a 3rd party be assigned to draw and handle the water sample, (ie not the Driller and not the land owner). I have contacted NTL - National Testing Laboratories. I asked if they can test for those 78 FRAC chemicals and how much they would charge a land owner.

 

 I thought that somebody told me that Chesapeake will do a well water test (for their records) before drilling starts so that they can establish a baseline to protect their business. I am not sure if we can get access to their report.

 

 It certainly would be nice if CHKP's water test and my water test have identical, as possible, values.

 

http://www.ntllabs.com/

 

 Notes:

 They have residential and commercial water tests.

 

  A list of ( some / all ? ) chemicals that NTL can test for ..

http://www.watercheck.com/pdf/Analyte_Reference.pdf

 

" ... See our Commercial Specification Sheet for a list of the compliance tests and groupings we generally offer. Additional services are available. Please contact one of our representatives if you do not see the test you need... "

 

Permalink Reply by Rich Koehler on May 16, 2011 at 8:02pm

I have since found out that our county (Wayne) SCS suggests having two tests done - one a flow test by a water well company to establish the amount of water your well can produce, and another a chemical analysis of the water quality. They got quotes from a couple of local water well companies of between $300 and $600 for quantity testing since it involves having a man and equipment on site for a couple of hours while your water well is running full throttle. The chemical analysis recommendation was also accompanied by the names of a couple of in-state labs. Both recommendations came with disclaimers of the SCS saying the companies were good or bad, the companies were the only ones able to do the work, etc.

The SCS office strongly supports the idea that everyone who might find themselves anywhere near a new well get their water well tested ASAP. It looks a full test of both quantity and quality will put a dent in your checkbook that will be close to $1000.00

Permalink Reply by Marianne Metzger on May 25, 2011 at 8:59am

Rich,

 

People with well water should be testing all along to ensure thier water supply is safe to consume.  With all the gas drilling it becomes even more important for people to test not only to ensure the safety of thier water supply but to legally protect.  When establishing a baseline water analysis there are many things which should be taken into consideration:

Current water quality issues i.e. iron hardness

Location of the well

Depth of the Well

 

Testing should be done by a certitifed or accreditated lab, samples should be collected by the lab or an approved sampler.  A good laboratory will be able to direct you to the testing you should consider given your specific situation.  Testing for litigation or compliance purposes can be expensive as the laboratory has to the proper certitifcation/accreditiation, which can be costly.  Testing for the list of chemicals they released in that list is cost prohibitive for many homeowners, infact several of the items on the list do not have any approve method for testing for it.  There are some simple less expensive tests that can be done to help in etablishing the baseline.

 

Marianne Metzger 

 

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on December 25, 2012 at 2:40pm

I would like to get a good baseline test done on our spring in Guernsey Co.  Does anyone have a good lab that they could recommend?  

Permalink Reply by jeff l on December 27, 2012 at 3:34pm

try www.alloway.com this is who is doing our water testing, they are out of marion ohio

Permalink Reply by Philip Brutz on December 27, 2012 at 7:20pm

Thank you for the recommendation.