Tag Archive for: Groundwater

Droughts Reinforce California’s Need for Water Management Improvements

California, also known as the Golden State, has many well-known qualities that attribute to its reputation. Many times, these qualities refer to accomplishments or physical attributes that serve as superlatives the state can claim as its own. Some examples include having the ninth largest economy in the world, and containing the highest and lowest points in the continental U.S.

Another title that California can claim is the state with the most variable climate in the U.S. – a title that also comes with some consequences.

Possibly the most significant consequence is California’s need to become resourceful with its water supply- not entirely surprising, given the drought it’s been experiencing all summer. Droughts, which unfortunately occur on a fairly frequent basis, cause the state to rely heavily on groundwater. Estimates conclude that California may rely on this source for up to 65% of its water needs.

However, California is the only state that doesn’t regulate groundwater, meaning that many of these groundwater sources are over-pumped, which can cause serious, permanent damages such as subsidence (the ground sinking), and destroyed aquifers.

What many environmental experts believe California may need is an increase on both federal and state-level regulation when it comes to water. Some suggest they should look to Australia as a model, who after their own devastating drought strongly reinforced that water is a public good, and publicly owned, in their new laws on water rights. This aggressive move toward statewide water efficiency standards is seen as a great first step, and pairs well with the need for groundwater pumping regulation, a diversified water portfolio, focus on community-based water storage, and upgraded water infrastructure, among others.

If California were to answer the call for stricter regulation on water use, it would also need a way to manage monitoring practices in order to successfully abide by these new regulations. Water quality management software is available and could potentially be a piece to the puzzle of solving the state’s water crisis.

The first bill to regulate groundwater is currently making its way through the law-making process, and only time will tell if this new water policy will set the stage for better water management techniques.

Latest version of proposed regulation changes on hydrofracking expected this week

It’s no secret that hydraulic fracturing, or hydrofracking, has been a popular topic for debate in recent years. Another occurrence revolving around this that has garnered support from some, and opposition from others, is Texas’ oil and gas regulatory agency, the Railroad Commission, updating its rules to address all aspects of the drilling process.

The latest version of the proposed rule changes is expected this week, and will be the largest revamping of Texas well construction regulations since the 1970s. These rules are important to ensure that toxic, fracking-related fluids do not leak into aquifers due to poor construction of oil and gas wells. These regulations will require examinations of things such as the quality of the protective cement placed between layers of pipe in a well, and a pressure test for the pipes themselves.

Keeping with the controversial theme around hydrofracking, some say the rule changes are too restrictive, and others say they aren’t enough. But most agree that hydrofracking does have the potential to contaminate groundwater if not performed correctly.

The contamination of groundwater can occur from faulty drilling or well completion. For the natural gas industry to ensure this doesn’t happen and to stay in compliance with these new regulations, it must keep up with an ongoing monitoring of site conditions and air emissions, management of production water, and the remediation of adverse environmental impacts: all of which involve the collection and analysis of large quantities of complex data.

Owners of hydrofracking sites and drilling companies need to take advantage of existing software tools to better organize their hydrofracking waste and water quality data. By using SaaS based software like Locus’ EIM to organize, manage, validate, visualize, store, and report this information, they can effectively demonstrate that this drilling can be done safely and transparently.

Fracking Under Fire

The Securities and Exchange Commission is asking oil and gas companies in the US to provide it with detailed information—including chemicals used and efforts to minimize environmental impact—about their use of hydrofracking.

The federal government’s investor-and-markets watchdog is stepping into the heated environmental debate surrounding hydraulic fracturing, or “fracking,” according to government and industry officials, even as state and federal environmental officials have begun to bring greater pressure on the industry. The process, which involves pumping water, chemicals and sand underground to free difficult-to-reach natural gas in shale basins, has come the center stage of political and environmental discussions.

At the same time the New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie is recommending a one-year moratorium on the hydraulic fracturing, after conditionally vetoing legislation that would have permanently banned the practice.

“Fracking” as it is often known, has provoked a fierce battle between environmentalists, who see it as a threat to public health, particularly drinking water, and natural-gas companies, which argue it is safe, and an economic windfall to …

EPA Calls for Stricter Drinking-Water Standards

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is planning to tighten standards for four water contaminants that can cause cancer as part of a new strategy to toughen drinking-water regulation.

EPA said it will start rulemakings to revise standards for two contaminants used in industrial or textile processing, tetracholorethylene and trichloroethylene, within the year. The EPA will follow that rulemaking by setting stricter standards for epichlorohydrin and acrylamide, which can contaminate drinking water through the water-treatment process.
Speaking at a conference of the Association of Metropolitan Water Agencies, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson said her agency is now developing a broad new set of strategies to strengthen public health protection from contaminants in drinking water.

“To confront emerging health threats, strained budgets and increased needs—today’s and tomorrow’s drinking water challenges—we must use the law more effectively and promote new technologies,” she said.

Ms. Jackson said the agency would now address contaminants as a group rather than individually, saying the current process is too time-consuming and fails to take advantage of cost-effective programs and technology. She said the EPA would also help to foster new technologies, use existing laws more stringently and partner with states to share data from public-water systems.

The agency is also assessing 14 other contaminants, including law and copper, chromium, fluoride, arsenic, atrazine and perchlorate.