How Much Water Does It Take to Frack a Well?
Here’s a graphical view of one of the most controversial aspects of hydraulic fracturing: the enormous amount of water it uses. Continue Reading
Infographic
BoomTown: How Drilling Has Changed Towanda, PA
Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Trucks drive down Towanda's main drag. Click on the image to view StateImpact Pennsylvania's new multimedia project, called "Boomtown."
StateImpact Pennsylvania’s latest project, BoomTown, documents how natural gas drilling has affected Towanda, Bradford County. Click here to watch and listen to the report.
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What does a drilling boom look like?
In Towanda, Bradford County, it looks like trucks rumbling across Veterans Memorial Bridge and down Main Street. The vehicles, hauling water, chemicals, equipment, sand and dirt more to and from natural gas drilling sites, have been a steady presence since 2008, when hydraulic fracturing began in surrounding Bradford County.
Perilous Pathways: How Abandoned Wells Can Contribute To Methane Migration Problems
Part 1: Why abandoned wells are a problem
Infographic: How abandoned wells can contribute to methane migration
Part 2: How many wells dot Pennsylvania, and why aren’t we plugging more of them?
Map: Known abandoned wells in Pennsylvania
Part 3: How to track down an abandoned well
Part 4: States don’t do much to regulate drilling near abandoned wells
Orphaned and abandoned oil and gas wells create a natural pathway for methane to migrate from. The process can be accelerated when an active well is drilled into the same formation the abandoned well is tapped into. This occurrence — called “communication” — is extremely rare, but it can create major problems at the surface. A 30-foot geyser of gas and water that burst through the ground in Tioga County in June was likely caused by Marcellus Shale drilling near an abandoned well.
This graphic shows how methane gas can make its way from deep underground into a basement, water well or the ground.
STATEIMPACT REPORTING, GRAPHIC PRODUCED BY YAN LU