Among the environmental worries posed by hydraulic fracturing, including the release of methane into the air and contamination of groundwater, one has recently escalated: the concern that the enormous quantities of water used in fracking will leave parts of the country parched. In 2012, fracking consumed some 50 billion gallons of water — water that many communities can ill afford to spare. New practices can make fracking somewhat less thirsty, however. States should see that drilling companies are encouraged to use them. Each fracking site needs 2 to 4 million gallons of water, to create sufficient pressure to fracture oil- and gas-containing rocks deep underground. When fresh water is used, it may be diverted from other users, including farms, manufacturing plants and households. There’s not always enough to go around; 55 percent of the wells fracked since 2011 are in drought areas. One way to minimize fracking’s drain on […]