The Oil Company Did Not Apologize For the Massive Leak. It Just Said, “Oops.”
A water spill estimated at 1.8 million gallons occurred in December 2012 in rural El Paso County east of Colorado Springs. Two massive above-ground freshwater storage tanks failed.
The water was to be used as part of the hydraulic fracturing process. An oil company representative assured that that no fracking chemicals or salts had yet been added to the water, but declined to reveal the source of the water.
The water broke through the walls of storage tanks. There was no further explanation for the release.
It is hard to imagine a “leak” of 1.8 million gallons of water. The weight of the water is some 14,000,000 pounds. A typical fracking operation consumes that much doubled, at least, and usually more. This leak alone would furnish water for 27 homes for 2 years.
One authority questioned the company’s ability to protect ground water from fracking fluids during ultra high pressure underground injection when it apparently cannot control plain water on the surface.
Source Reference: The Gazette of Colorado Springs.
