Spotlight On: Fracking & The Water Crisis

Although the need to move to renewable sources of energy is becoming clearer by the day, as part of the solution to prevent environmental breakdown and tackle the climate emergency head on, reliance on fossil fuels continues unabated, with consumption climbing to a record high in 2023.

Figures from global professional organisation for the energy sector The Energy Institute, alongside KPMG and Kearney, show that fossil fuel use rose by 1.5 per cent to reach 505 exajoules, which drove emissions above 40 gigatonnes of CO2 for the first time, the Guardian reports.

Last year, fossil fuels constituted 81.5 per cent of global primary energy use, a small dip on the 82 per cent seen in 2022, despite the fact that both wind and solar farms generated record amounts of clean electricity.

Although wind and solar power rose by 13 per cent in 2023, appetite for gas held steady and coal consumption was up by 1.6 per cent, while demand for oil climbed by two per cent to hit 100 million barrels per day for the first time.

Commenting on the findings, chief executive of the Energy Institute Nick Wayth observed that the slow transitional energy progress “masks diverse energy stories playing out across different geographies.

“In advanced economies, we observe signs of demand for fossil fuels peaking, contrasting with economies in the global south for whom economic development and improvements in quality of life continue to drive fossil fuel growth.”

Fossil fuel extraction

There are various ways in which fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas can be extracted, including mining, where coal resources are dug or scraped out of the ground, or drilling, where gaseous or liquid resources like natural gas and oil are forced to flow to the surface through pipes.

However, the last few years has seen the use of hydraulic fracturing – more commonly known as fracking – come increasingly to the fore, a modern high-volume technique that enables natural gas or oil to be extracted from shale and other types of impermeable rock formations.

The process involves blasting large quantities of water, sand and chemicals into these tight rock formations at sufficiently high pressures to crack the rock and allow the trapped oil and gas to come to the surface.

Fracking itself can actually date its history all the way back to the mid-19th century and the American Civil War, when one Colonel Edward Roberts observed that the impact that artillery had on water-filled channels could be used to inform the design of a torpedo of sorts that, when lowered into oil wells, would shatter the surrounding rock.

Oil flows could then be increased by pumping water into the well… and thus, fracking was born.

The concept was expanded further in the 1940s, but it wasn’t until the 21st century that the practice really became commonplace, thanks to the use of less viscous fracturing fluid made up of water, chemicals and sand, and the introduction of horizontal drilling techniques that meant more of the rock formation could be accessed.

It’s expected that the global hydraulic fracturing market will climb from £52.1 billion in 2023 to $74.4 billion by 2028, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 7.4 per cent during that period. This is being driven in large part by the increasing gap between supply and demand for primary energy sources.

What impact does fracking have on water?

Fracking has long courted controversy because of the impact it has on the natural environment, not just in terms of the amount of resources it consumes as part of the process but also because of the detrimental effects it can have on the air and water quality in fracked regions.

Billions of litres of water is used each year because of hydraulic fracturing practices, reducing the amount of potable water available, as well as that for other industries, such as agriculture. Water quality is also at risk, as petrochemical contaminated wastewater can pollute local rivers, lakes and streams.

As the Safe Drinking Water Foundation explains, one of the most damaging impacts that fracking has on the environment is how it affects groundwater.

For example, the chemicals used in fracking fluid and the extracted gas itself have been found to leak into water resources, with high levels of methane, benzene, ethane and chromium-6 all found in some wells near fracking sites.

Fracking can also reduce groundwater levels and drive down water pressure in aquifers, which then allows methane gas to build up in gas bubbles that can come to the surface in household pipes or shallow bodies of water.

Regional disparities

As the Energy Institute report indicated, demand for fossil fuels in advanced economies does appear to be peaking, which would suggest that fracking use will start to decline.

However, in emerging economies – such as India – fossil fuel growth is being driven by improvements in quality of life and an economic boom.

In 2023, India’s fossil fuel consumption was up eight per cent, making up 89 per cent of all energy use. For the first time ever, more coal was used in India than in North America and Europe combined, according to the report.

A new study from the University of Surrey has found that India now has plans in place to scale up its fracking practices without implementing robust regulations, which could have serious implications for the country’s water security.

Apparently, India is now positioning shale gas as one of its primary transitional energy sources, with 56 new fracking projects announced for six different states… but as the study notes, the regulatory framework for fracking is based on rules intended for more conventional drilling practices.

In Europe, however, use of fossil fuels has fallen to below 70 per cent of primary energy use for the first time since the Industrial Revolution, off the back of a drop in demand and the rise of renewable energy.

How can businesses help?

While there may not be much you can do to stop fracking practices beyond engaging with production companies on issues like water quality and availability, and encouraging them to be open and transparent about their practices, you can take steps to reduce your own reliance on freshwater resources.

Improving your water footprint will help to safeguard resources for future generations, as well as saving your business money into the bargain. If you’d like to find out more about how to become a water-efficient organisation, get in touch with SwitchWaterSupplier.com today.