Editorial Board
How to Save Water on Fracking
New practices can reduce the water demands of hydrofracking for oil and gas. States should see that drilling companies are encouraged to use them.
Among the environmental worries posed by hydraulic fracturing, including the release of methane into the air and contamination of groundwater, one has recently escalated: the concern that the enormous quantities of water used in fracking will leave parts of the country parched.
In 2012, fracking consumed some 50 billion gallons of water -- water that many communities can ill afford to spare. New practices can make fracking somewhat less thirsty, however. States should see that drilling companies are encouraged to use them.