Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers

Scientists Map Where Orphan Wells Threaten Aquifers in the U.S.

Scientists from the United States Geological Survey (USGS) have for the first time compiled a map of groundwater variables to understand which aquifers in the United States are most vulnerable to being contaminated by “orphan wells” — gas and oil wells that have no active owner and are no longer producing, but have not yet been plugged. The study, “A geospatial analysis of water-quality threats from orphan wells in principal and secondary aquife…

Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers • Pennsylvania Capital-Star

Cliff Simmons, an oil and gas inspector supervisor for the Pennsylvania Dept. of Environmental Protection, points a methane sensor at an abandoned well on the Murrysville property of Pamela and Ivan Schrank on Thursday, March 28, 2024. Simmons visited the well site with other DEP officials, journalists and Rep. Summer Lee (PA-12). (Steve Mellon/Pittsburgh Union Progress)This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-pa…

Scientists map where orphan wells pose threats to aquifers

This article originally appeared on Inside Climate News, a nonprofit, non-partisan news organization that covers climate, energy and the environment. Sign up for their newsletter here. For the first time, scientists have mapped groundwater variables nationally to understand which aquifers…

Scientists Map Where Orphan Wells Pose Threats to Aquifers - Inside Climate News

A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey finds that groundwater in Appalachia, the Gulf Coast and California is susceptible to contamination from orphaned oil and gas wells.

Groundwater provides us with half of the total amount of water we extract for domestic use worldwide, in addition to 25% of the water we use for the irrigation of agricultural land, according to the United Nations. It is therefore a fundamental water resource, more so considering that only 2.5% of the water that exists on our planet is fresh water. Therefore, this promising treatment for contaminated groundwater is so important that it has been …

Scientists Map Where Orphan Wells Pose Threats to Aquifers

A new study from the U.S. Geological Survey finds that groundwater in Appalachia, the Gulf Coast and California is susceptible to contamination from orphaned oil and gas wells. By Martha Pskowski For the first time, scientists have mapped groundwater variables nationally to understand which aquifers are most vulnerable to contamination from orphan wells.