How will drilling in ANWR affect the water supply of the wildlife preserve?

Question

Currently the oil wells located at Prudhoe Bay require 1 million gallons of water a day to operate.

Answer 1

The fresh water that is used is not primarily for the workers or for drilling operations. The primary use of freshwater related to North Slope operations is for building ice roads in the winter. The freshwater lakes in the area freeze solid in the winter, so they cannot be used for this purpose. It seems to me this would be the major source of water for wildlife, and since it sits in shallow lakes over permafrost it is unlikely to be adversely affected by groundwater pumping.

I suspect the million gallons a day being used at Prudhoe Bay is SALT WATER that is carried by pipelines from the ocean and injected into wells.

From what I have read there is freshwater available along the major rivers, probably as groundwater. I keep finding statistics being quoted that say it takes 1 million gallons of freshwater per mile of ice road, and that there are only 9 million gallons available in the 1002 area. I can't find the actual source of that information and it seems suspicious to me, especially since no one who repeats it ever gives a source.

Here is what I can find on from the USGS regarding fresh water sources north of the Brooks Range:
http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/ch_n/gif/...
This is a comment USGS Water makes about permafrost aquifers:
"Permafrost affects ground-water recharge, movement, and discharge. The frozen ground blocks the downward percolation of rainfall or melt water, and thus restricts recharge to subpermafrost aquifers. Where the permafrost table is shallow, it can perch water near the land and surface. Permafrost also blocks the lateral movement of ground water, and acts as a confining unit for water in subpermafrost aquifers. Discharge of water confined beneath the permafrost is possible only through unfrozen zones, or taliks, that perforate the permafrost layer. Although a huge quantity of water is stored in the permafrost, the water cannot be obtained and the presence of thick, continuous permafrost greatly limits the usefulness of most shallow aquifers."
http://capp.water.usgs.gov/gwa/ch_n/n-ak...

The other comment I found on USGS is that the aquifers of the North Slope have not yet been mapped, so I am somewhat skeptical of the claim that there is not enough there to build ice roads.


OFF TOPIC:
I hate to disappoint all the people who think the salt in the Pecos River is from oil wells. I have canoed most of the lower Pecos, and will confirm that the salt in that river is natural. It was present long before oil was ever discovered. It comes from areas where salt deposits are near the surface and springs carry it into the Pecos.

Here is what the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife says about the salt in the Pecos:
"The Pecos River originates in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains of northern New Mexico and flows 1320 km southeast to the Rio Grande. NATURALLY (my emphasis) occurring brine springs and dissolution of Permian salts in the middle reach of the river...contribute to increase in salinity, ...:"
http://www.tpwd.state.tx.us/publications...

I read the Odessa Water Report for 2004 and that previous answer is totally misreading the report. When they say their water EXCEEDS Federal Requirements, it means it is BETTER than the standards, not worse!!!! The only constituent that is found in Odessa water that is primarily credited to oil drilling is barium from drilling mud disposal, but it is also from natural sources like clay. Further, barium is FAR BELOW the Maximum Contaminant Level established by the EPA. That answerer needs to read that report again. The compounds that cause Odessa's water to taste so bad are the sulphate (natural), chlorides (natural) and total hardness of naturally occurring calcium.

Answer 2

Drilling definately can have an impact on water quality! For example, in Odessa TX (an oil town), the ice rink had to install a reverse osmosis system just for the ice. The water was so weird that it was breaking the zamboni.
I checked the City of Odessa 2004 Water Quality report and it specifically cites discharge of drilling wastes as a source of pollution.
Odessa's drinking water exceeds all federal primary drinking water requirements.
It doesn't taste so hot either...
(no offense)

Answer 3

if drilling is not done properly casing holes allowing brine water to come in contact with fresh water, not abounding wells properly will have advise affects on fresh ground water case in point west Odessa and Pecos Texas was done this way and now has contaminated ground water that can't be used the Pecos river is now a salt water river

Answer 4

It should'nt have any affect on the water supply.

When you say "water Supply" you apparently mean the fresh water resource, not a water plant to provide potable water. In any case, The one million gallons of water workers will use is trivial.

Answer 5

b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef3O+ is hydronium. that's what you get whilst your water is acidic. Acids may be regarded as purely recommendations with extra H20+'s floating around. those H20+'s related themselves to any water it quite is around to sort b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef3b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef+. This then floats around and sort of consists of alongside extra water molecules to unfold the charge and additionally you get issues like b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef3b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef[b8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9efb8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9efb8fff7aca771d27b8dd3e7ca6dc3a9ef]6+

Answer 6

No effect
there pumping oil not water!