Impact of Hydraulic Fracturing on the Susquehanna and Delaware Watersheds

Overview

University of Pennsylvania Chemical by-products from the hydraulic fracturing industry are known to contaminate bodies of water, often putting human health at risk. To prevent this issue, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PADEP) enacted a legislation, which required all hydraulic fracturing sites to be more than 1,000 feet away from a water body. However, during rain events, these chemicals can be washed downstream and travel more than 1,000 feet, finding their way into distant waterways. This chemical accumulation may negatively affect the environment and integrity of our public drinking water. ESRI’s ArcGIS, a computer software used for analyzing geographical and spatial data, was used to study this topic. Publicly available geographic layers from PASDA, PADOH, and OpenDataPhilly were used in this study. Locations of hydraulic fracturing wells in PA were geocoded over areal layers of the Delaware and Susquehanna watersheds, and county-level layer of the State of Pennsylvania. Spatial analyst tools such as Hydrology Fill and Flow Direction/Accumulation tools in ArcGIS were used to analyze elevation data and assess risk of chemical drainage into bodies of water via watersheds and tributaries. Key findings from this project were that forty-eight hydraulic fracturing sites are at risk for contaminating water with dangerous chemicals. Novel Preventative Strategies for Acute Kidney Injury & Chronic Kidney Disease Greenwood Village, Colorado

Competition history

• JSHS 2020 Category not listed

Resources

• National JSHS abstract book ↗

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