Hydraulic fracturing of wells, more commonly known as fracking, has been in use since the 1940’s. More than 2,000,000 wells have been fracked worldwide. The National Petroleum Council reports that hydraulic fracking is presently employed in 95% of the wells drilled today.
Fracking, the last step used to maximize well production, is applied after the well has been drilled, reinforced and proven safe in operation. In general, hydraulic fracturing is accomplished by pumping fracking fluid from the holding tank and down the well bore at high pressure. It typically happens thousands of feet below the surface, well below freshwater aquafers.
Water is the primary ingredient in fracking fluid and may be obtained from surface water, ground water, municipal sources, recycled water and other grey water sources. Other chemicals, commonly found in consumer products, are subsequently added to make fracking fluid that meets the particular mineralogical conditions of each well.