DIVING INTO THE DEEP END: REFLECTIONS ON DON SIEGEL’S RESEARCH, THE DEBATE AROUND HYDRAULIC FRACTURING OF THE MARCELLUS, AND METHANE IN GROUNDWATER

Don Siegel has shown the hydrogeology community how to “dive into the deep end” when it comes to tackling scientific questions at the heart of public debate. In particular, Don’s research on methane in domestic wells in the Marcellus Shale Region (Siegel et al, 2015; 2016) has received national attention, both from the scientific community and from the public. Using water quality results (including methane concentrations) from 19,278 predrilling groundwater samples from water wells in Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, Siegel et al (2016) found that methane concentrations were naturally correlated to water type (e.g. Na-HCO3 vs Ca-HCO3) and landscape position (e.g. valleys vs uplands). Using a subset of wells (11,309) found in northeastern Pennsylvania, where hydraulic fracturing has proliferated in the past decade, Siegel et al (2015) concluded that methane concentrations were not correlated with a well’s proximity to the nearest existing oil or gas well, as had been asserted in other work. As a collaborator on Syracuse University’s Project SWIFT, Siegel has contributed to our efforts to characterize natural variability of methane concentrations in New York’s southern tier, where hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells is currently prohibited, compared to other regions overlying the Marcellus. Our observations from 137 domestic wells show that 5% of wells in our 5-county study area have actionable levels of methane (>10 mg/L). In addition, 50% of wells positioned in valleys that draw water with Na as the dominant cation (e.g. Na-HCO3, Na-Cl) have methane concentrations >1 mg/L. Landscape characteristics and water type are strong predictors of the likelihood of finding naturally-elevated methane concentrations in domestic wells.

Siegel, DI et al. 2015. Methane concentrations in water wells unrelated to proximity to existing oil and gas wells in Northeastern Pennsylvania. Environ. Sci. Tech., 49 (7): 4106-4112.

Siegel et al. 2016. Dissolved methane in shallow groundwater of the Appalachian Basin: Results from the Chesapeake Energy predrilling geochemical databases. Environ. Geosciences, 23 (1): 1-47.