Dwr Cymru critical on Fracking

Dwr Cymru presentation (by Paul Henderson) asked for

"a precautionary approach not only to the protection of groundwater sources used for public supply, but also those used by private abstractors" and mentioned

"the Schwyll groundwater source is an important backup supply for the Bridgend area".

The VoG Council is the 'regulator' for private supplies.  But their EHO has not submitted anything on the risk to these from the development.

Here is the full report given at the

VALE OF GLAMORGAN COUNCIL SCRUTINY COMMITTEE (ECONOMY & ENVIRONMENT)

MEETING TO CONSIDER SHALE GAS EXTRACTION

Thank you for your letter of 29 September inviting Dŵr Cymru Welsh Water to give evidence to your Council’s Scrutiny Committee inquiry on 17 October into the potential impact of the extraction and burning of shale gas. The guidelines enclosed with your letter suggest that witnesses should submit written evidence in advance of the meeting.

Background

Dŵr Cymru is a statutory water and sewerage company. Our supply area covers most of Wales, including the Vale of Glamorgan. We have some three million customers in total: we provide an essential public service by supplying their drinking water and then carrying away and dealing with wastewater. Dŵr Cymru is owned by Glas Cymru a not-for-profit company with no shareholders and we are run solely for the benefit of our customers.

The extraction of shale gas as an energy source is fairly well established in some countries. Our understanding is that gas production in commercial quantities usually requires the induction of fractures in the rock to increase permeability. A common method of achieving this is hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) where fluid containing chemicals and sand is pumped at high pressure via a borehole into the gas bearing rock to develop fractures which are propped open by the sand particles, a process that may need to be repeated every few years to maintain gas flow.

The Committee will be aware that concerns have been raised, notably in the USA, that the drilling of exploratory and production boreholes, together with associated activities such as “fracking”, may present a risk of pollution of groundwater within aquifers.

There seems to be increasing interest across the UK in identifying and exploiting methane deposits contained in shale formations and also un-mined coal beds. Parts of Wales have been identified for exploration for both of these, including the Vale of Glamorgan.

Dŵr Cymru’s interest

Dŵr Cymru’s interest in shale gas and coal bed methane exploration is confined to the possible impact on our water supplies. Although most of our supplies are from surface water sources such as rivers and reservoirs, we do source about 5% from groundwater. In the Vale of Glamorgan, for example, the Schwyll groundwater source is an important backup supply for the Bridgend area.

The Committee will appreciate that Dŵr Cymru would be very concerned if gas exploration and production risked polluting – directly or indirectly - any of the groundwater which we are able to abstract to maintain public drinking water supplies.

Against that background, we would like to be consulted on and involved in all applications relating to shale gas and coal bed methane so that we can safeguard the interests of our customers. Currently water undertakers such as Dŵr Cymru are not statutory consultees for planning applications. We therefore have to try to keep ourselves aware of any new proposals or rely on local planning authorities realising that we may have an interest and seeking our views on relevant applications. This enables us to assess whether there might be an impact on the quality of the water from which we source drinking water and advise local planning authorities accordingly.

Similarly, we hope that the Environment Agency will consult us on any applications it may receive for related environmental permits.

More generally, given the potential risks that some exploration and production processes may represent, we hope that the regulatory authorities will adopt a precautionary approach not only to the protection of groundwater sources used for public supply, but also those used by private abstractors. They represent an important asset for future generations and restoring polluted groundwater can be prohibitively expensive, assuming it is even technically feasible.

PAUL HENDERSON     Environmental Policy Manager