Question about well water testing

Has anyone had a baseline test done on their well water in order to track any contamination caused by drilling?

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Permalink Reply by craig on August 4, 2011 at 5:50pm

In our area everyone within 2000' of the well gets their water tested by two different independent labs, paid by the company drilling...you get copies from both labs.  It is only required to be  tested 1000' from the well, fwiw

I'm not worried about my well water. 

Permalink Reply by JMS on August 4, 2011 at 5:53pm

So are you already leased?  Where are you located?

Permalink Reply by JMS on August 5, 2011 at 6:48am

Thanks Brian.  Good to know what specific steps are being taken and that it is at the gas company's expense. I don't believe Chesapeake is negotiating in our area.  I believe we are working with Exxon, Shell and Chevron.

I was debating about having this done now before any drilling begins in our area.  This was suggested by one of the news clips posted on the media section of this website.  The speaker also indicated which specific chemicals to look for, which I thought was helpful. 

Have you seen this clip?  If so, were the specific chemical tests done on your water? 

Permalink Reply by Jim Litwinowicz on August 5, 2011 at 7:20am

The gas companies do the testing beyond a thousand feet to protect themselves from lawsuits, often out to 2500'. It is also advisable to do your own tests both before and after drilling. It should be done by an independent third party company that retains custody of samples. Having multiple tests by two or more testing companies adds credence to the test results should a problem develop.

 

A test for methane is recommended but is also expensive, around a $1000.00  Sometimes, you can get a decent discount by having a group get together and hiring one company to do the whole group.  Methane would be the most likely contaminate to show up if the well casing is poorly done.

Permalink Reply by JMS on August 5, 2011 at 8:57am

Yes, this is what I have read and seen in the media clips...that it's important to get this done now, before the drilling begins; but it is really good to hear from someone with the actual experience.  I like the idea of getting a group together to help contain the costs of this testing.

Thanks!

Permalink Reply by JMS on August 5, 2011 at 8:54am
Thanks...that's good to know they care!
Janice Lanphere HancharickPermalink Reply by Janice Lanphere Hancharick on August 6, 2011 at 2:22am

Baseline testing is imperative prior to drilling.  PSU suggests a Tier lll  level test, then repeat testing a year after  drilling has commenced.  It's quite inclusive.  Since horizontal drilling can continue for years ... think 'frac the frac' in a prime location,  a repeat test 5 yrs. later bears consideration.  I like the mention made of distance from house water being specified.  You might be surprised to find what you've been drinking, because "back in the day" many gas/oil wells were drilled and not properly plugged.  Drillers have stated that sometimes casing was pulled before a site was abandonned, then gravel and nature's debris from the forest floor dumped down the hole.  While that holds for awhile, eventually it gets into the water table.  This scenario was often repeated because  laws demanding different actions weren't on the books.  It was just "business as usual".

This topic has been raised earlier, and bringing it up again is totally worthwhile.  This matter should be addressed in a lease.

 

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Elsie Gibbs on August 6, 2011 at 2:52am
take if from me these tests are over $500 a pop and in our township some of the wells were drilled before we knew what was happening.
Permalink Reply by craig on August 6, 2011 at 6:28am

All the more reason to not depend on our illustrious gov't to take care of things and for us to keep up with what is happening locally. 

As far as baseline testing your own water yourself...if it will give you peace of mind then do it and pay the price. However the two seperate lab reports (paid by CHK) that my brother received is all you need for a baseline. 

Don't be surprised of what you will find in your baseline water test though, before drilling even begins. 

I'm still not convinced that we need to  be worrying about our well water. I can think of other more likely scenerios that could cause a problem worth worrying about....but these scenerios are not very likely to occur statistically. 

 

Permalink Reply by Kathleen Elsie Gibbs on August 6, 2011 at 8:14am

Our concern for the water is that not only do we have the drilling, we also have abandoned mines, abandoned wells and farms. We have have our water tested for the basics. The problem is we never felt the need to test for all those chemicals. So what was normally around $100 for potability is now $500 for chemical and methane migration contamination. Our well is around 500 feet from a shallow Atlas well and they never tested like they said they would (we did make a stipulation they were to test when we were home) and they never showed up.

DEP tested when our water fizzed. Found methane one time last AUG and when they returned for a full test promised to let us know all the results. Still waiting for the results. So my advice is don't expect the government to help you.

Janice Lanphere HancharickPermalink Reply by Janice Lanphere Hancharick on August 6, 2011 at 9:21am
There are surface and sub-surface contaminents entering our water tables daily, and always have been.  A shallow water well doesn't have enough natural earth filtering being done to keep it "safe" ... that doesn't mean "pure" because the best water has chemicals. Those terms are not synonymous.  A deep well can be contaminated by all the things you mentioned, and the chemicals naturally seeping throughout subsurface regions.  Why should the gov't  be held responsible for all that?  We are where we are until we move or die.
Permalink Reply by Kathleen Elsie Gibbs on August 6, 2011 at 9:49am
Never expected the government to be responsible for our water. We moved here and knew what we had. OTOH we are also not responsible for the problems others create. In our case the drillers promised to test and then did not. The DEP tested and promised to send us the results and did not. Simple as that.

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