--- title: EPA: Fracking Doesn't Cause 'Widespread' Water Contamination description: EPA report: “no evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.” canonical: https://time.com/3909595/fracking-epa-drinking-water-pollution/ author: Maya Rhodan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-06-04T19:18:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T08:06:21.440Z article:section: Science og:title: EPA: Fracking Doesn't Cause 'Widespread' Water Contamination og:description: EPA report: “no evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.” og:url: https://time.com/3909595/fracking-epa-drinking-water-pollution/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd289d34bb43e74fb/6988530b0b72e3329a6e450a/fracking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4256 og:image:height: 2394 og:image:alt: Fracking Jonah Field wyoming og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: EPA: Fracking Doesn't Cause 'Widespread' Water Contamination twitter:description: EPA report: “no evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States.” twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltd289d34bb43e74fb/6988530b0b72e3329a6e450a/fracking.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Feds Say Fracking Has Little Impact on U.S. Drinking Water > Sponsored content. 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Future Proof is TIME's weekly climate and energy newsletter, written by senior correspondent Justin Worland. It connects the energy transition to the decisions reshaping business, technology, policy and markets. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: TIME Explains: U.S. Energy Independence [Watch (HLS stream): TIME Explains: U.S. Energy Independence](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/XmcuBM5C.m3u8) (2:26)  _Published 2012-11-01. TIME senior editor Bryan Walsh explains a hot topic from the presidential race, whether the U.S. can truly be energy independent_ by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 4, 2015 7:18 PM UTC  Schlumberger trucks with 2000 horsepower pumps direct water, sand and chemicals over 11,000 feet into the ground to create a fracture at a completion site on the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyo., pictured on April 9, 2015. Schlumberger trucks with 2000 horsepower pumps direct water, sand and chemicals over 11,000 feet into the ground to create a fracture at a completion site on the Jonah Field in Sublette County, Wyo., pictured on April 9, 2015. Alex Milan Tracy—Sipa USA/AP by [Maya Rhodan](https://time.com/author/maya-rhodan/) ## Maya Rhodan Jun 4, 2015 7:18 PM UTC The controversial oil and gas extraction technique of hydraulic fracturing — commonly known as “fracking”— has no “widespread” impact on American drinking water, according to a new [report](http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/hf%5Fes%5Ferd%5Fjun2015.pdf) released by the Environmental Protection Agency. Fracking, when water-based mixtures are pumped at a high pressure into geologic formations to extract oil and gas, has long been criticized by environmentalists who claim the wastewater from the process can pollute nearby freshwater supplies such as springs, lakes and rivers. The report, however, found “[no evidence that these mechanisms have led to widespread, systemic impacts on drinking water resources in the United States](http://www2.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-06/documents/hf%5Fes%5Ferd%5Fjun2015.pdf).” The report does note some specific instances, however, when some parts of the fracking process have contaminated drinking wells or otherwise impacted the American water supply, but authors note the number of cases is “small compared to the number of hydraulically fractured wells.” The fracking industry has been partly responsible for a [revolution in the shale oil industry](http://fortune.com/2015/01/09/oil-prices-shale-fracking/), lifting U.S. production to 9.3 million barrels a day in early 2015 — up from 5.6 million barrels a day in 2010\. However, the worldwide fall in oil prices since last year has [shrunk demand](http://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-04-22/half-of-u-s-fracking-companies-will-be-dead-or-sold-this-year) for the method of extraction, with many fracking companies forced to slash costs or shut down operations. The report warns there are some activities both above and below ground that could have an adverse impact on the water supply, including water withdrawals at places with low water availability, spills, poor treatment of wastewater, and the way water moves in and out of fracking areas. The study’s authors note that municipalities, tribes, and federal officials should use the report to keep future contamination from occurring. The reports authors say while the findings could mean contamination is rare, it could also be a result of limited data on resources before and after fracking begins and the lack of a definitive link between some instances of contamination and fracking activities. ## Transcript [ MUSIC ] You've been hearing a lot about the United States becoming energy independent in recent debates. This has been something that politicians have been dreaming about for decades really. But here's what you really need to know about the subject. [ MUSIC ] American Presidents since Nixon have been promising to get the United States off foreign oil and all we have seen since that time, really, is America importing more and more oil. This is actually coming closer to happening than it ever has before. Right now, the US is in a huge domestic oil production boom. The US may actually be on pace to eclipse Saudi Arabia as the world's biggest oil producer. However just because the United States is producing a lot of oil, doesn't mean that we're gonna actually become energy independent, meaning free from all imports. And that's for a few reasons. One, Americans use a lot of oil. We use millions of barrels of oil each day, much more than we produce, so we'll, we'll still need to import more oil from other countries, and that's unlikely to change any time soon. But what's probably more important to you at the pump in which you actually pay for gasoline is that, oil is not a domestic product in a sense that it's produced here in the United States, only consumed here in the US. It goes into that big global oil market and then people buy it at that whatever the market price will bear. The result being that even with more oil coming from the United States, it's likely to remain pretty expensive into the future. So we may be headed towards days where $ 3. 50 a gallon gas, even $ 4. 00 a gallon gas could co- exist with a, a, an America that's still producing a great deal of oil. [ MUSIC ] For the election, that's a bit problematic. Because you have someone like Governor Romney who says he wants to make America energy independent by 2020. But again, that's not something that's likely to impact you when you're actually paying for gas. President Obama, has also emphasized the idea of producing more energy here in the United States, but he also talks a lot more about reducing consumption through energy efficiency. One of President Obama's achievements in his first four years of office is actually increasing auto efficiency, getting your cars to get more miles per gallon. If you can do that, you can actually cushion the United States against any increases in the cost of oil or cost of gasoline going forward. And that's really the bottom line at the end of the day. As long as we all remain as dependent on oil as we are now we will be paying a lot for it. Even if more of it comes from the United States. 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