Monday, December 13, 2010

Marcellus Gas Drillers May Compete For Your Water

Marcellus shale natural gas well developers are a water-thirsty lot. And far too few land holders in Pennsylvania and New York are aware of just how thirsty, contends Charles Abdalla, agricultural and environmental economist at Penn State.
Water is a critical component in the process of extracting natural gas, notes the water policy expert. According to the Susquehanna River Basin Commission, up to 5,000 wells may eventually be drilled in that river basin alone. It doesn't include those in the western third of Pennsylvania in the Ohio River basin or those in the Delaware River basin.
Water supplies to individuals, businesses and communities will be affected well into the future as this energy resource is fully developed, predicts Abdalla. The drilling process can require up to 300,000 gallons per day per well.
Hydrofracturing a deep vertical well may use 500,000 to more than 1-million gallons of water. And "fracking" a Marcellus horizontal well may use 4- to 8-million gallons of water, typically within a week, according to the SRBC. Some Marcellus wells may need to be "fracked" several times over their productive lives.
Such large water withdrawals may come from streams, ponds, rivers or groundwater. But they'll increase potential for conflicts between competing users. That's why Abdalla warns: "Citizens need to become aware of their stake in water-resource issues and policies and effectively participate in public policy-making."
To help, Penn State has updated Water Withdrawals for Development of Marcellus Shale Gas in Pennsylvania to help people understand how and where they can offer input into public decisions about water use and wastewater treatment. "Now's the time to learn about and help shape public policies that'll guide development of the Marcellus Shale," he adds.
For a free copy, contact the Penn State College of Agricultural Sciences' Publications Distribution Center, 112 Ag. Administration Building, University Park, PA 16802-2602; telephone: 814-865-6713; fax: 814-863-5560. Or e-mail to AgPubsDist@psu.edu. Or click http://extension.psu.edu/water/resources/publications/consumption-and-usage/marcelluswater.pdf/view for a copy in PDF format.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Red Raider Football Awards


Offensive MVP: Jason Blose
Defensive MVP: Andrew Fragale
Most Improved Player: Ryan Grimm
Coach John Simon Award: Dylan Reed
"54" Award: Seth Mcfall

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Photo of the Day

The "Christmas in the Wilds" parade and beautiful weather brought out many to enjoy the festivities

Monday, December 6, 2010

Photo of the Day


The kids at Woodland Elementary got a big surprise today when a US ARMY helicopter was forced to make an emergency landing on the tennis court. We are told that the chopper was returning from a military funeral when it ran low on fuel due to the inclement weather. I will say that I admire the skills of that pilot to land that huge machine in that small tennis court! Last word is that fuel is being brought in and it will be departing shortly.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

Photo of the Day


Didn't see any deer today, but the beauty of the woods was enough to keep me interested all day.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

Substantial Flooding in Cameron County

Almost every area of Cameron County was affected by the torrential rainfall last night. Observers indicated that over 3.5'' of rain fell in 24 hours. Here, the Bucktail Search and Rescue team is attempting a water rescue of some stranded hunters stuck in their camp.
More photos at my facebook page HERE