California’s Thirst Shapes Debate Over Fracking

Lake Oroville, shown in April, is a popular fishing location in Butte County and the second-largest reservoir in California. It now holds only two-thirds of the water it should at this time of year. (Credit Jim Wilson/The New York Times)

By NORIMITSU ONISHI, NYT
MAY 14, 2014

OROVILLE, Calif. — Enemies of fracking have a new argument: drought.

Fracking a single oil well in California last year took 87 percent of the water consumed in a year by a family of four, according to the Western States Petroleum Association, an industry lobbying group. That amount — a modest one by national standards, the oil industry argues — has become an increasingly delicate topic since a drought was officially declared early this year in the state.

The drought, combined with a recent set of powerful earthquakes, has provided the momentum for about a dozen local governments across California, the third-largest oil producing state, to vote to restrict or prohibit fracking in their jurisdictions, as concerns over environmental effects and water usage have grown.

At the same time, a bill that would declare a statewide moratorium on fracking has been gathering support in the State Senate, a year after a similar effort failed.

(More here.)