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Fracking Boom Carries Hidden Costs to Taxpayers
“I’d say they should be shooting for 100 percent,” said Luke Metzger, director of Environment Texas, adding there is currently no reporting on what percentage of water is currently recycled.
“We do know the vast majority is not recycled,” he added, noting that in Pennsylvania about one-third of the water is recycled. “After the drought just demonstrated how vulnerable our economy is to drought, I think there’s a lot more concern that the oil industry isn’t doing enough to cut back on water use.”
Oil and gas representatives have testified that mining only consumes two percent of the stat’s water supply, and of that hydraulic fracturing consume less than a percentage point.
However, the new report notes that local impacts can be far higher. In LaSalle County in the heart of the Eagle Ford Shale, for example, fracking consumes 40 percent of the local water supply, Metzger said.
