After fracking waste from one disposal well was found to have moved underground for miles, residents in southeastern Ohio say the leak signals a threat to Marietta's drinking water.
The fears now center on radioactive wastewater from oil and gas operations and whether it might reach aquifers beneath the Muskingum River Valley.
What happened?
After wastewater from the Redbird #4 injection well near Marietta traveled five miles underground into active oil and gas wells, residents, experts, and even local oil and gas employees became quite worried.
Bob Lane, who works in the oil and gas industry, plainly said at a press conference that "I think eventually [this fracking waste] will get to the city of Marietta's water wells."
As reported by the Ohio Capital Journal, Lane advocated for the drilling companies to compensate the town for future damage.
In the same press conference, Lane said, "I would like to see the injection company instantly put a bond, made out to the city of Marietta, for $18 million or $20 million because what are you going to do 10 years from now when you have no drinking water?"
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Dr. David Jeffrey, a professor of geology at Marietta College, further explained the situation to the Ohio Capital Journal.
He told the outlet that "you're going to have to have hundreds of geotechnical people and engineers come in … and track down every little ounce of that radioactive fluid, and it's going to be very expensive … that's going to cost tens or even hundreds of millions of dollars to try to make sure that those fluids do not reach our aquifers or the surface."
Ohio has at least 20,000 orphaned oil and gas wells, but the true number is likely much higher.
Why does it matter?
Waste brine from fracking and other oil and gas operations can contain radioactive substances, including radon gas, radium, and isotopes of uranium and thorium.
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If that waste reaches aquifers, the consequences could be severe for households that depend on local drinking water.
Even if it never does, pollution from the products of the oil and gas industry contributes to air and water pollution linked to asthma, heart disease, cancer, and premature death.
These dirty energy sources also keep energy costs high for households that remain tied to these fuels instead of cleaner, more abundant sources like sunlight and wind.
Industry lobbying also delays cheaper energy solutions that would better protect families and lower utility bills.
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