Research and analysis

Impacts on groundwater from shale gas production in northern England - summary

Published 29 October 2020

Applies to England

1. Chief Scientist’s Group research summary

This project produced a number of case studies to show how groundwater could be affected by a large-scale development of the shale gas industry. The aim of the project was to provide evidence to inform decision-making by regulators, operators and government.

1.1 Background

Assessments have been carried out on risks to groundwater from individual shale gas development proposals. However, there has been limited consideration of the potential impacts that could arise from a widespread industry. In a joint project with the British Geological Survey (BGS), case studies in 3 areas of northern England were used to help understand how groundwater could be affected should there be large-scale development of the shale gas industry.

1.2 Method

The project reviewed published reports on shale gas development, its impacts and risk mitigation measures. The reports were mainly from the USA, where the industry is long-established, as there has been limited shale gas activity in England. We prepared case studies covering two areas in the Vale of Pickering, Yorkshire, and one in the Fylde Basin, Lancashire.

We estimated the likely area of land that could be used for constructing sites, and evaluated possible impacts on groundwater from operational activities, such as chemical spills, improper well construction or operation, and the volume of water needed for drilling and hydraulic fracturing.

1.3 Results

Cumulative impacts on groundwater depend on the number of active wells, and the rate and nature of pollutant release. Between 6% and 14% of the case study areas could potentially be useable for shale gas sites.

We assessed potential acute risk to groundwater of a leak directly into near-surface aquifers. Results showed that even if several wells failed, there would only be a low risk to groundwater across a district or region.

If the shale gas industry develops substantial volumes of water may be needed, although this will be spread across several years. For a moderate impact scenario, the amount of water needed within the study areas would be less than 0.8% of the annual groundwater abstractions during 2016 for the north-east and north-west of England.

1.4 Next steps

Further work could be carried out to determine if and how the shale gas industry may develop over time and geographically. Future assessments should ideally use data for England, and not rely on data from North America as this study has had to.

The potential cumulative impacts on groundwater should be reviewed further as the industry develops and data for England become available. It would be appropriate to reassess the areas considered in this report as well as considering other regions.

1.5 Publishing details

This summary relates to information from project SC160026 reported in detail in the following output:

Report:

SC160026

Title:

Cumulative impacts on groundwater from shale gas production in northern England: A case study

http://nora.nerc.ac.uk/id/eprint/526763/

October 2020

Project manager:

Ian Davey, Research, Analysis and Evaluation

Research contractor:

British Geological Survey Environmental Science Centre, Keyworth, Nottingham NG12 5GG

This project was funded by the Environment Agency’s Research, Analysis and Evaluation group, which provides scientific knowledge, tools and techniques to enable us to protect and manage the environment as effectively as possible.

Enquiries: research@environment-agency.gov.uk

© Environment Agency