Shale Gas and Water Resources in Pennsylvania
Science Center Objects
The Pennsylvania Water Science Center and other USGS scientists are studying water availability, use, quality, and ecology associated with development of shale-gas energy resources in Pennsylvania.
Latest Report: Potter County 'Baseline' Groundwater Quality (see Publications)
Shale-gas development in Pennsylvania is focused on the Marcellus Shale. USGS is helping understand potential and actual impacts on water resources and ecosystems.
Marcellus Shale extent, permitted unconventional oil and gas wells, and counties where USGS has conducted baseline groundwater quality surveys in Pennsylvania (Public domain.)
Geohydrologic and water-quality characterization of a fractured-bedrock test hole in an area of Marcellus shale gas development, Bradford County, Pennsylvania
Open-File Miscellaneous Investigation 13–01.1 presents the results of geohydrologic investigations on a 1,664-foot-deep core hole drilled in the Bradford County part of the Gleason 7.5-minute quadrangle in north-central Pennsylvania. In the text, the authors discuss their methods of investigation, summarize physical and analytical results, and...
Risser, Dennis W.; Williams, John H.; Hand, Kristen L.; Behr, Rose-Anna; Markowski, Antonette K.
Dissolved methane in groundwater, Upper Delaware River Basin, Pennsylvania and New York, 2007-12
The prospect of natural gas development from the Marcellus and Utica Shales has raised concerns about freshwater aquifers being vulnerable to contamination. Well owners are asking questions about subsurface methane, such as, “Does my well water have methane and is it safe to drink the water?” and “Is my well system at risk of an explosion hazard...
Kappel, William M.
Water resources and shale gas/oil production in the Appalachian Basin: critical issues and evolving developments
Unconventional natural gas and oil resources in the United States are important components of a national energy program. While the Nation seeks greater energy independence and greener sources of energy, Federal agencies with environmental responsibilities, state and local regulators and water-resource agencies, and citizens throughout areas of...
Kappel, William M.; Williams, John H.; Szabo, Zoltan
Baseline groundwater quality from 20 domestic wells in Sullivan County, Pennsylvania, 2012
Water samples were collected from 20 domestic wells during August and September 2012 and analyzed for 47 constituents and properties, including nutrients, major ions, metals and trace elements, radioactivity, and dissolved gases, including methane and radon-222. This study, done in cooperation with the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation...
Sloto, Ronald A.
Landscape consequences of natural gas extraction in Fayette and Lycoming Counties, Pennsylvania, 2004–2010
Increased demands for cleaner burning energy, coupled with the relatively recent technological advances in accessing unconventional hydrocarbon-rich geologic formations, have led to an intense effort to find and extract natural gas from various underground sources around the country. One of these sources, the Marcellus Shale, located in the...
Slonecker, E.T.; Milheim, L.E.; Roig-Silva, C.M.; Malizia, A.R.; Gillenwater, B.H.
Baseline groundwater quality in national park units within the Marcellus and Utica Shale gas plays, New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia, 2011
Groundwater samples were collected from 15 production wells and 1 spring at 9 national park units in New York, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia in July and August 2011 and analyzed to characterize the quality of these water supplies. The sample sites generally were selected to represent areas of potential effects on water quality by drilling and...
Eckhardt, David A.V.; Sloto, Ronald A. Production and disposal of waste materials from gas and oil extraction from the Marcellus Shale Play in Pennsylvania
The increasing world demand for energy has led to an increase in the exploration and extraction of natural gas, condensate, and oil from unconventional organic-rich shale plays. However, little is known about the quantity, transport, and disposal method of wastes produced during the extraction process. We examined the quantity of waste produced by...
Maloney, Kelly O.; Yoxtheimer, David A.
Groundwater-Quality Assessment, Pike County, Pennsylvania, 2007
Pike County, a 545 square-mile area in northeastern Pennsylvania, has experienced the largest relative population growth of any county in the state from 1990 to 2000 and its population is projected to grow substantially through 2025. This growing population may result in added dependence and stresses on water resources, including the potential to...
Senior, Lisa A.
Water Resources and Natural Gas Production from the Marcellus Shale
The Marcellus Shale is a sedimentary rock formation deposited over 350 million years ago in a shallow inland sea located in the eastern United States where the present-day Appalachian Mountains now stand (de Witt and others, 1993). This shale contains significant quantities of natural gas. New developments in drilling technology, along with higher...
Soeder, Daniel J.; Kappel, William M.