Two Syracuse University geology professors - along with a
graduate assistant or two - are hurrying to collect water
samples from drinking wells in the Southern Tier before - and if
- the natural gas extraction method known as hydraulic
fracturing is approved in New York. Greg Hoke and Laura Lautz
will use the samples to create a baseline database of drinking
water quality in the region. The effort is being called Project
SWIFT, for shale-water interaction forensic tools. They have
been collecting samples all summer and the results will soon be
available online. "You'll be able to go and search ‘what does
sodium concentration look like in Southern Tier drinking
water?’" Hoke says. "You name the element and we’ll probably
have it. The common ones will certainly be up there." Hydraulic
fracturing - or fracking - requires massive amounts of water
pumped into shale formations to release natural gas. Once that
water is used, it is contaminated with salt, chemicals and
radioactive materials. Landowners in states whe