So far, we've had 58 consecutive days of 100+ temperatures and lakes that supply Dallas water are becoming depleted. It's gotten so bad, the neighboring town of Kemp in Kaufman County lost running water, because of the extreme heat and drought conditions, and couldn't fight fires.
The City of Dallas has proposed a 5.9% water rate increase in the 2011-2012 Dallas City Budget. A pipeline is being built to Palestine, TX at a cost of $850 million. New reservoirs or connections to sources in Oklahoma are being considered.
And closer to home .... there are two proposed/pending gas drilling sites in the Mountain Creek area waiting for recommendations from the Dallas City Gas Drilling Task Force to the Dallas City Council. Each well frack uses an average of 5 million gallons per frack. Wells are usually fracked multiple times and there are usually multiple wells on a gas pad site.
After the water is used for fracking, it is toxic and has to be buried into other wells. It is cost prohibitive to recycle. The water is taken out of the hydrologic cycle.
Residents are asking questions:
- Has the City of Dallas projected the gas industries heavy need for water into their Plans?
- What is the average rate per gallon for residents?
- What is the average commercial rate per gallon?
- What is the rate per gallon of untreated water for the gas industry, considering the water used is taken out of the hydrologic cycle?
Or maybe we need water for living .... not burying.
None of us drink the Joe Pool Lake Water...since it's "untreated" as you've mentioned. But our City of Grand Prairie states clearly that the water from Lake Joe Pool "is" used for watering the golf courses AND for gas drilling activities.
ReplyDeleteI guess water for "recreational purposes" as in swimming, fishing and boating is not at the top of the list for Joe Pool anymore.
Eventually we will be drinking water from Joe Pool Lake. Currently Mansfield gets their drinking water from Joe Pool Lake. Read this link http://dallasdrilling.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/the-832000000-00-dallas-water-hose/ from last year detailing the future water plans with the pipeline from Dallas. Amazing!
ReplyDeletePersonally, knowing that there are horizontal wells "under" Joe Pool Lake right now (which means they were hydraulically fracked with chemicals) I don't think that many would choose to drink any of the water from Joe Pool Lake (even when treated for consumption).
ReplyDeleteEast Texas is drying up, too (the starting point for that water pipeline from Palestine, TX):
Bluedaze
A very expensive water pipeline that doesn't bring water...maybe it would be like the Superconducting Supercollider.