Up Late August 23 Grateful There Is No Drought In North Texas So Chesapeake Energy Can Remove All The Water It Needs From The Trinity River

I was up past midnight last night. I am rarely up past midnight.

Being up past midnight had me up after the sun, looking out my primary viewing portal on the world on this 23rd Day of August, with the 23rd Day of this HOT month being the next to last Tuesday before August becomes September.

I don't know how HOT we got yesterday, as measured at the official temperature measuring station at D/FW Airport. I suspect it was over 100. Again.

Currently this morning is relatively chilly at only 83.1, heading to a scheduled hight today of 104.

One of the worst North Texas droughts in history along with the HOTTEST summer in North Texas history has miraculously not caused a water shortage. I know this because the City of Fort Worth is letting Chesapeake Energy stick water sucking pipes in the Trinity River, running those pipes full of water to a Barnett Shale Natural Gas Drilling Site adjacent to Fort Worth's Trinity Park.

Water sucked out of the Trinity River, then mixed with sand and chemicals and then injected into a well never again re-enters the water cycle. Unless by accident. And when that happens it is a very very bad thing.

Regarding this Trinity River water sucking during a drought, Don Young sent out an email last night regarding a TV news report on this issue on CBS 11.

Below is what Mr. Young had to say........

My recent report on the industrialization of Trinity Park got the desired media reaction. Jason Allen of CBS 11 DFW is doing a report tonight at 10 PM.

Appropriately, it came on another Level Orange air quality warning day in Dirty Ol' Town.

Jason's angle will probably focus on the millions of gallons of water used to frack this single Chesapeake well during the worst drought in Texas history*. I encouraged him to see the whole picture of what it means to industrialize much of Fort Worth and North Texas.

I met Jason at the park to find the fracking job in full swing. The smell of diesel fuel filled the air even upwind of the pad-site. Two Fort Worth Police cars, not usually seen in the vicinity, were parked nearby. hmmm. Tanker trucks full of sand and toxic fracking chemicals were lined up. Fracking equipment was spewing smoke and dust. (Remember, this is a high-end neighborhood. The world renown Kimbell and Modern Art Museums are  about 3 blocks away.)

Question from Jason: What about the water? The drilling industry and its enablers, including City of FW officials, claim they use less water than say, Miller Brewing, another local industry.

Fact: The water Miller uses eventually goes back to the water cycle to make more beer, or whatever. The water used by Chesapeake is permanently removed from the water cycle and buried underground forever, due to it's extreme toxicity. Big difference.

There's a reason I call Fort Worth, Dirty Ol' Town.

DY

* Based on daily average temperature.