Characterizing the association between oil and gas development and water quality at a regional scale

IF 1.7 4区 环境科学与生态学 Q3 ECOLOGY
Freshwater Science Pub Date : 2022-03-22 DOI:10.1086/719983
Colin Casey, M. Hartings, M. Knapp, E. Malloy, K. Knee
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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Over the past ∼15 y, unconventional oil and gas (UOG) production utilizing hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling has increased dramatically in the Marcellus Shale in the Appalachian region of the USA. The area also has a long history of conventional oil and gas (COG) production as well as coal mining, and the 3 extractive activities (UOG, COG, and coal mining) often occur in the same watersheds. Produced water and wastewater from oil and gas (OG) extraction can have very high concentrations of dissolved metals, radionuclides, and other solutes. Previous studies have documented streamwater pollution associated with spills and releases of these fluids, but it remains unclear whether OG development has broad regional effects on streamwater quality. This study assessed whether COG and UOG well densities in watersheds were associated with water-quality metrics, including specific conductance, dissolved metals, nutrients, radium isotopes, and anions, when controlling for coal mining and land cover. Water quality was measured at 120 stream sites with non-nested watersheds in the Marcellus Shale region. Linear modeling revealed that COG well density was associated with higher concentrations of Mg and Cl−, and UOG well density was associated with higher 228Ra:224Ra ratios, suggesting that this ratio might be a useful indicator of UOG development in watersheds. Adding OG well density to linear models explaining the concentrations of water-quality variables improved R2 by ≤0.04, indicating little increase in explanatory power. However, linear regression coefficients indicated that an increase in COG well density from 0 to 11 wells/km2 (the maximum well density observed in our study area) could be associated with 35× increases in Mg and Cl− concentrations, although the SE of these estimates was large. This research suggests that OG well density may have small but measurable effects on streamwater quality; however, the effects of other human activities and land uses, such as coal extraction and urban development, are likely larger and more environmentally relevant.
区域尺度上油气开发与水质关系的表征
在过去的15年里,在美国阿巴拉契亚地区的马塞勒斯页岩,利用水力压裂和水平钻井的非常规油气(UOG)产量大幅增加。该地区传统油气(COG)生产和煤炭开采的历史也很悠久,三种开采活动(UOG、COG和煤炭开采)经常发生在同一流域。石油和天然气(OG)开采的产出水和废水可能含有非常高浓度的溶解金属、放射性核素和其他溶质。以前的研究已经记录了与这些流体泄漏和释放有关的河流污染,但OG的开发是否对河流水质有广泛的区域影响尚不清楚。本研究评估了在控制煤炭开采和土地覆盖的情况下,流域COG和UOG井密度是否与水质指标相关,包括特定电导、溶解金属、营养物质、镭同位素和阴离子。在马塞勒斯页岩地区的120个非嵌套流域的河流站点测量了水质。线性模拟表明,COG井密度与较高的Mg和Cl−浓度相关,而UOG井密度与较高的228Ra:224Ra比值相关,表明该比值可能是流域UOG发育程度的有用指标。在解释水质变量浓度的线性模型中加入OG井密度,R2提高≤0.04,说明解释力没有增加。然而,线性回归系数表明,COG井密度从0井/km2增加到11井/km2(我们研究区域观察到的最大井密度)可能与Mg和Cl−浓度增加35倍相关,尽管这些估计的SE很大。该研究表明,OG井密度对河流水质的影响可能很小,但可以测量;然而,其他人类活动和土地使用的影响,如采煤和城市发展,可能更大,更与环境有关。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
Freshwater Science
Freshwater Science ECOLOGY-MARINE & FRESHWATER BIOLOGY
CiteScore
4.10
自引率
0.00%
发文量
49
审稿时长
6-12 weeks
期刊介绍: Freshwater Science (FWS) publishes articles that advance understanding and environmental stewardship of all types of inland aquatic ecosystems (lakes, rivers, streams, reservoirs, subterranean, and estuaries) and ecosystems at the interface between aquatic and terrestrial habitats (wetlands, riparian areas, and floodplains). The journal regularly features papers on a wide range of topics, including physical, chemical, and biological properties of lentic and lotic habitats; ecosystem processes; structure and dynamics of populations, communities, and ecosystems; ecology, systematics, and genetics of freshwater organisms, from bacteria to vertebrates; linkages between freshwater and other ecosystems and between freshwater ecology and other aquatic sciences; bioassessment, conservation, and restoration; environmental management; and new or novel methods for basic or applied research.
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