More Than Enough Water For Fracking In The Bakken

Reuters is reporting.

In towns across North Dakota, the wellhead of the North American energy boom, the locals have taken to quoting the adage: "Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting." It's not that they lack water, like Texas and California. They are swimming in it, and it is free for the taking. Yet as the state's Bakken shale fields have grown, so has the fight over who has the right to tap into the multimillion-dollar market to supply water to the energy sector. North Dakota now accounts for over 10 percent of U.S. energy output, and production could double over the next decade. The state draws water from the Missouri River and aquifers for its hydraulic fracturing, the process also known as fracking and the key that has unlocked America's abundant shale deposits. The process is water-intensive and requires more than 2 million gallons of water per well, equal to baths for some 40,000 people.

Just for the record, I've said that from the beginning: there is no shortage of water in the Bakken. That's how the Bakken will differentiate itself from West Gulf (Eagle Ford) where they area about to institute water restrictions in San Antonio, and the Permian (west Texas) where there is always a water issue.

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North Dakota

The amount of water that is released from the Garrison Dam in less than one day in the spring is enough to frack 2,000 wells.

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Colorado River

Future of Colorado River, May 24, 2013: 

Mexico also has a stake in the river, and U.S. and Mexican officials signed a pact in November for new rules on sharing Colorado River water, including a deal that lets Mexico store water in Lake Mead. The deal provides for international cooperation to ensure that river water reaches the Gulf of California for the first time in decades.

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Permian (West Texas)

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West Gulf (Eagle Ford)

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California: Paso Robles

The wells are drying up, and the blame is being placed on the wineries, September 2, 2013.

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Miscellaneous News Reports

Peak water is limiting energy production, PrinceGeorgeCitizen, June 7, 2013.