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Water Loss: A Crisis of Misuse

The fracking industry is one of the most water-intensive extractive processes in operation today, consuming hundreds of millions of gallons of clean water every year. Once removed from the natural water cycle, this water can never be returned. For example, here in Belmont County, Ohio, there are over 1,600 active fracking wells, with each well using anywhere from 1 to 16 million gallons of water.

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When you extrapolate this across the nation, the total water usage of the oil and gas industry becomes nearly unimaginable.

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Unlike water used in agriculture or municipal systems, which can be treated and reintroduced, fracking water is so contaminated with chemicals, heavy metals, and radioactivity that it can never return for human consumption, agriculture, or wildlife. This isn’t just a technical issue—it’s a moral one, particularly as climate change accelerates and regions around the world face unprecedented droughts and water shortages.

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For more details about the data visit our friends at at FractTracker Alliance

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A System Out of Balance

The practice of using freshwater for fracking isn’t just environmentally reckless; it’s completely out of sync with the fundamental principles of human survival. Water is the most essential resource on Earth, and yet this industry is allowed to withdraw massive amounts from municipal reservoirs, rivers, and aquifers—sometimes in regions that are already struggling with water scarcity. What’s more, fracking companies often pay far less for access to this water than average consumers do for their own drinking water, which raises serious questions about equity and corporate accountability.

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The Unseen Impact on Drought-Stricken Regions

As the world grapples with climate change, legacy water sources—such as lakes, rivers, and underground aquifers—are beginning to dry up. In many cases, these are the same sources that fracking companies pull from. Yet, in times of drought, when local residents are facing water restrictions or higher costs for basic water needs, these companies are still able to tap into these resources at reduced costs. In some regions, water usage for fracking has become so extreme that it has exacerbated water shortages, contributing to community-wide distress and even prompting emergency measures to ration water for households and agriculture

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How Much Water Is Wasted?

It’s not just a matter of the water being used; it’s the fact that it’s lost forever. The millions of gallons that go into a single well are contaminated beyond recovery. This means that they are irreversibly polluted—locked away in toxic underground waste reservoirs or disposed of via injection wells where they will never be available for any beneficial human or environmental use again. At a time when the world is becoming increasingly aware of the value of water as a resource, this wasteful practice stands out as both unsustainable and dangerously short-sighted.