Penn State seeks water well owners for gas study

By Laura Legere (Times-Shamrock Writer)

Published: April 11, 2011

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Penn State researchers are looking for landowners with private water wells near Marcellus Shale natural gas sites to participate in a study of potential impacts from the drilling activity.

Bryan Swistock, a water resources specialist with Penn State Cooperative Extension, said the researchers are performing free water tests at about 200 water wells within a mile of Marcellus wells that have been drilled and hydraulically fractured.

To qualify, landowners had to have a water test performed by a state-accredited lab before the drilling started and be willing to share those results with the researchers.

Results of the study will be released in the summer, but information about the wells and their owners will be kept confidential, Swistock said.

"It is really just to determine if there are any clear impacts on groundwater supplies," he said.

The tests will look for 14 parameters commonly associated with drilling fluids and wastes but will not include methane, which is more complicated and expensive to test for, Swistock said.

Well owners can apply to be part of the study by visiting www.surveymonkey.com/s/marcellus.

Contact the writer: llegere@timesshamrock.com

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