Water UK, the body which represents all the UK water companies at national and international level, is calling for the Government to make them  statutory consultees on fracking planning applications before the end of this Parliament.

Water UK said that the extraction of shale gas poses potential risks to groundwater reserves, for example through contamination with chemicals used in the fracking process. However, the Infrastructure Act, passed last month, which states that water companies will need to be consulted for all planning applications involving the boring for, or getting of, oil and natural gas from shale, would help mitigate the risks.  By being involved early in the planning process, water companies can work with shale gas operators to identify any risks and assess the impacts on drinking water sources.

Water UK said:

“It is vital that the Government now makes the necessary changes through secondary legislation under the Town and Country Planning Act to incorporate water companies being statutory consultees into planning requirements, before the end of this Parliament.”

A new position paper on groundwater protection for unconventional oil and gas extraction published by the organisation says that a risk-based approach should be taken to the protection of groundwater resources whereby risks are identified and assessed, and then appropriate, measured actions taken to mitigate the impacts on the environment and public health. According to Water UK, this approach would enable protection measures to be developed in the most sensitive areas whilst still allowing carefully managed industrial practices to take place safely.

However, in Water UK’s view the conditions established in the Infrastructure Act 2015 do not clearly express what the government’s expectations would be for the scope of groundwater protection in addition to the protection that already exists.  

Established Environment Agency policy is that drilling activity would not be permitted in SPZ1  (Source Protection Zones are the highest risk zones closest to a groundwater abstraction point) and that careful consideration would be given to planning applications in SPZ2 and SPZ3. The paper says it is unclear whether vertical wells drilled outside a particular SPZ would be permitted to extend horizontally under higher vulnerability SPZs, commenting:

“The total area of an SPZ3 can be substantial and therefore a moratorium on horizontal drilling from outside these zones could preclude large areas of land from exploration, although the activity itself is not necessarily adding any significant risk to groundwater resources.”

Water UK are proposing that it would be appropriate to consider this on a case-by-case basis, accounting for vertical separation between the aquifer and the target hydrocarbon source rock as well as the geological integrity of the intervening strata.  The exercise could be completed as part of the EA’s determination of the permit.

The paper states that further clarity on the issue is expected during the development of secondary legislation.

Click here to download the position paper