Texas’s Oil and Water Tightrope

Texas has been betting big on oil since 1901, when its first well erupted at Spindletop, and over the past century, production has boomed. But new oil extraction techniques required to ensure continued production consume and threaten to degrade the state’s precious water resources.

With a history of repeated water shortages, Texas’s projected increase in water usage for oil production is expected to create problems as the state’s population grows, aquifers deplete, land subsides, and the state struggles to meet future water demands. Oil production can also contaminate water, which is a major concern given Texas’s insufficient groundwater supply. And the practice of disposing of water used during oil production by injecting it underground may induce seismicity in a state that is not prepared to deal with elevated earthquake activity.

See full Article: http://carnegieendowment.org/2014/03/11/texas-s-oil-and-water-tightrope/h35x