New Brunswick begins groundwater testing
The New Brunswick Energy Institute has launched the first large scale examination of methane gas occurrences in private water wells in the Canadian province as part of a larger research initiative that will assess the impacts, if any, of shale gas development on domestic well water quality.
The USD $500,000 study will collect and report baseline domestic water quality data in selected regions of New Brunswick, Canada, with a focus on groundwater quality parameters most relevant to the potential impact on shallow groundwater from the production of shale gas.
"Having a comprehensive data set for groundwater quality prior to resource development will be extremely valuable because it can be used as the basis for comparison. Without it, you can't confidently say how variable groundwater conditions were pre-development," said Dr. Kerry MacQuarrie, project lead and professor of civil engineering at the University of New Brunswick.
Four potential study regions have been identified, including the Sussex-Petitcodiac, St. Antoine-Shediac, Harcourt-Richibucto, and Boisetown-Upper Blackville areas.
To date, researchers said, natural gas is only being produced from the most southern area in the McCully field near Sussex, NB. The other three areas were included because they encompass relatively large land areas currently subject to exploration.
The two-year study began in April 2014 and a final technical report is expected in April 2016.
