I have shown you this Chesapeake Energy pond previously. This pond is located at the northeast corner of Cooks Lane and Brentwood Stair Road in far East Fort Worth.
Lately it seems to have taken on an even more unnatural shade of blue than previously.
And a couple pieces of heavy equipment have been added. I assume these are pumps. They were not pumping today. There is a lot of pipeline running along Cooks Lane, near the Chesapeake pond.
Another thing I noticed today is the signage has been changed. I do not remember what the signage said previously, but I know it definitely did not say "This fresh-water frac pond is operated by Chesapeake Operating, Inc."
Fresh-water frac pond?
Take a look through the chain link fence at the fresh-water frac pond. As you can see, this "fresh-water" is a different shade of blue than the natural blue sky. Sort of a milky turquoise.
What chemicals are in this "fresh-water?" What happens to a bird that lands thinking it's going to take a refreshing drink of real fresh-water? What makes the Chesapeake "fresh-water" such an unnatural shade of blue? Do chemicals flash off the "fresh-water" into the air? What is the quality of the pond liner that keeps the Chesapeake "fresh-water" from migrating to real fresh-water?
If the water in the pond is safe, why is there a chain link fence around it? The pond at Veterans Park does not have a chain link fence around it. Happy Elkins Lake by Veterans Park does not have a chain link fence around it.
More than anything, I would like to know why this "fresh-water" is such an unnatural shade of blue?
Seems to be the same shade of blue as the Trinity River, in all the Trinity River brochures...and in the new frac pond in North Richland Hills. Maybe the Trinity River Vision Authority turned the fresh water blue.
ReplyDeleteFresh water frac ponds are filled with fresh water from water wells , the same water you drink. The oil companies are running a clean operation because they have too much to lose
DeleteUnlike the people who have nothing more to do than trash a awesome industry that employs millions of Americans!
"Fresh water", huh? Sounds very refreshing. Have you thought about bottling some for your Tandy Hill hikes? Seriously, this "fracked" or "produced" water which is more toxic than the original water and cocktail of chemicals that were hot into the ground because when that liquid comes back up it brings along some naturally occuring but dangerous chemicals as well. A bunch of healthy cows keeled over shortly after sipping on a leaking pond in Louisiana last year. Yep, the culprit was fracking CHK Energy, Operating, or whatever myriads of aliases they use.
ReplyDeleteIt looks like a dye used in stock ponds to make them more attractive and supposedly reduce algae growth, but it is really just for looks.
ReplyDeleteA Frac Pond is used to store the "fresh" water for fracking the well or wells on a pad site. There are no state regulations for how long they can remain in place. They can hardly be truly "fresh" when the pumps are pumping the water to mixing areas for the fracking formula. There is bound to be some flowback from those areas back to the "FRAC Pond." Even a little of that concoction can poison the water.
ReplyDeleteA Sludge Pit is where the "produced" water ends up AFTER the well has been FRACKED. Sludge Pits and Frac Ponds are two different parts of the shale gas drilling process. When they say, "oh, our city doesn't have sludge pits." What they mean is they have what is called "closed loop" so that when all that produced water comes back up (probably 1/2 of the water that goes down into the wellbore will come back up) then they store it in "tanks or tank batteries," on the site.
Trucks will come later to pick it up and throw it away (that's also highly unregulated) or inject it into an injection well somewhere nearby or out in the country.
The problem with the Frac Ponds is the potential for flowback from the wellbore as the "fresh water" is mixed with chemicals and sand that is pumped into the Earth.
Also, any "FRAC Pond" the size these are that are so close to residential neighborhoods have the potential for mosquito outbreaks, etc. Lots of ridiculous stuff that this industry has convinced everyone is A-OK.
Oh, and here's our monstrous FRAC Pond. It was placed 10 feet from residents in the Westchester neighborhoods in Grand Prairie, TX.
ReplyDeleteIt forced our community to become knowlegeable about shale gas drilling. Our education has made us very skeptical of this shale gas industry. They are bound and determined to turn their targeted areas into industrial zones.
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the fact is there are new means and methods to treat the frac water. Our company for example has a product used to treat all soil, hydrocarbons, metals etc. We have the ability to remove 90% of the contaminates from the water as it is produced. Sitedewatering.com is the link, so there is no reason for things like this to occur in our country of great technology. This process is cheaper than ponds, tanks and other devices used today. So if the companies research solutions, they would find us and have more money to maintain compliance with and create more jobs etc, etc.
ReplyDelete...Or it could just be calcium carbonate and water colorant... granted I wouldn't drink the colorant but go look at any dolomitic limestone quarry and you'll see the same hue.
ReplyDeleteI've also seen frac ponds that had an unatural greenish hue and shiny sheen. Since there is very little oversight, how do we know what's really in them? Is anyone performing random testing?
ReplyDeleteMosquitos have been a growing concern in the Fish Creek Neighborhood in Arlington which has a frac pond. When I contacted Chesapeake last year, they denied that their pond is breeding mosquitoes, despite the ever-increasing numbers of them. It is nearly impossible to spend time outdoors on our property, as we get chewed up alive. I worry about the diseases that the mosquitoes alone can cause.
Well,well,well (or should I say pond,pond,pond.) West Nile Virus is running amock here this late summer in the DFW area...I wonder why? It not happpening in Louisana with all of its bayous, Arkansas riviers and lakes just Texas. Hmmm, take a gab at it folks and wonder who is the culprit.
ReplyDeleteWhy is there a fence around it? Because of the liability issue in case some child happens to find out they can't swim! See what your property liability insurance jump to if you have a swimming pool or open body of water upon your property! It also reduces the possibility of sabotage by anti frackers that promote monkey wrenching environmental terrorism as well.
ReplyDeleteNot knowing what the color of the ponds plastic liner is might be the color along with the use of Aqua Shade. I use Aqua Shade in my pond and it does cut down on bottom weed growth. If you look it up all it is is concentrated food coloring!
I do not know for certain what the exact regs are for fracking in Texas. In Colorado and Wyoming it's strictly regulated, from start to finish. Even the "frac sand" a bi product of the process must be completely cleaned up and disposed in a designated area. I have spent the last year installing frac pond tanks in several states. As stated above the water that comes back out of the frac sight does not mix with the water in the pond. It's stored seperately generally on the opposite side of the sight. To think frac ponds are contaminated by the flow back is ridiculous, that's like saying the drinking water from someone's well is contaminated by the septic system. As far as the complaints about these ponds breeding Mosquitos is highly unlikely and near impossible if in fact the water in the pond had been contaminated by the flow back chemicals. Yes I know this for a fact as I ran a mosquito control crew for 11 years, 95% of people who complain about Mosquitos are providing the breeding sites right on their own property. Whether from over watering the lawn, to water trapped inside old tires to the bird bath right outside their front door! Mosquito larva is hatched and grows best in shallow waters with plenty of vegetation, as the entire cycle from hatch off to fully matured mosquito depends entirely upon the temp of the water. Which needs to be around 48 degrees Fahrenheit for the process to begin at all. Lets not forget about using bug spray to avoid West Nile virus!! I have spent countless hours inside skeeter infested places wearing a t shirt and shorts and never contracted WNV!! oilfields and rodeo are often criticized for one thing or another, but it always stems from ignorance. People need to educate themselves before bashing an industry that has givin thousands of Americans a chance to thrive.
ReplyDeleteThe water is fresh water as in not salt water or treated water. The fence is in place to keep people out. The pit is lined with high density polyethylene geo textile, if someone tries swimming in it, they cannot climb out due to the plastic, which could cause drowning. You can now go back to ignorantly throwing accusations at the evil oil companies... or you could educate yourself and contribute to your community. I am betting against the latter.
ReplyDeleteWater. This finite resource ~ when used for fracking ~ is permanently removed from the hydrologic cycle forever. And then there are earthquakes/frackquakes... Blissful ignorance is sorely underrated.
ReplyDelete