Fracking and Well Water: Who Do We Believe?

Here’s an article that professes to lay out the case that the EPA was coerced by the Obama Administration during the 2012 election to basically deny there was a link between hydraulic fracturing (fracking) and groundwater contamination. This supposedly happened in an area of Pennsylvania. If true, it’s really a sad state of affairs.  We depend on the EPA to take its role seriously without political or other outside influences.

For me, it’s another indication that we individually need to take matters into our own hands.  This is especially true if we get our water from a well on our property. There are no government requirements for testing our well water for contaminants. If you live in an area where fracking is taking place, you could be subject to contamination because of the chemicals from the fracking operation  finding its way into your well water. If you live downhill from the drilling operation, I’d suggest you be especially vigilant.

So, what should you do to protect you and your family. Our recommendation is that you have your well water tested by a professional lab that follows EPA testing methods. The sooner you do before or after the fracking begins the better. That’s because it gives you a baseline that you can use to compare future tests against. We’d suggest you test on at least an annual basis. If you begin to see changes in the level of some contaminants, you can then take action to reduce or eliminate the level of those specific contaminants.

You might even take your reports to your local health department. In all honesty, they should be proactively testing well water in fracking areas, but that’s not the norm.

Click here to read the article about the EPA action that got me to write this post.

If you’re looking for more guidance about how to protect you and your family by having your well water tested, click here.