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How Much Water Does It Take to Frack a Well?

Click on the image to view an infographic explaining where water for fracking comes from.

YAN LU/NPR STATEIMPACT

Click on the image to view an infographic explaining where water for fracking comes from.

Here’s a graphical view of one of the most controversial aspects of hydraulic fracturing: the enormous amount of water it uses.

 
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StateImpact Pennsylvania is a collaboration among WITF, WHYY, and the Allegheny Front. Reporters Reid Frazier, Rachel McDevitt and Susan Phillips cover the commonwealth’s energy economy. Read their reports on this site, and hear them on public radio stations across Pennsylvania.

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