A water withdrawal feature from producer Matthew Stinson
When fracking was at its height in some parts of the Great Lakes a decade ago, the state of Michigan made more in one day in leases from energy companies to explore oil and natural gas production than it made in the previous 80 years. Fracking has fallen off recently, but experts say oil companies will eventually bring the practice back to the Great Lakes Region.
High volume fracking uses millions of gallons of water along with sand and chemicals to break up shale and refine it into oil and gas.
In “Fracking, The Great Lakes Sleeping Giant,” producer Matthew Stinson explains how fracking withdraws water from the Great Lakes, and he explores some of the issues raised by using high volumes of water – water that is rendered unusable when it is contaminated in the fracking process.
As one expert in this piece says of oil companies and the fracking industry: “They’ll be back – when the price is right.”
If you missed the premier watch Beneath the Surface: The Line 5 Pipeline in the Great Lakes now.
