Encana Corporation services

Water use in natural gas development, including hydraulic fracturing, is strictly regulated by, state, provincial and federal government agencies. We meet and often exceed the requirements set out by regulators. Exploration, development and production of natural gas is primarily regulated by local state or provincial agencies. While the regulatory system differs from state to state and province to province, each jurisdiction follows a similar approach.

Natural gas development depends on water. Protecting groundwater and surface water is important and we work hard to ensure our operations do not adversely affect local water resources. We have processes in place to protect groundwater and minimize environmental impact before, during and after wellbore construction.

Detailed baseline data on groundwater helps ensure the protection of groundwater resources and the environment. Once we have identified local groundwater aquifers and selected a location for a well, we may take samples from sources of water near our proposed operations. These water samples establish baseline conditions for both the quantity and quality of groundwater. We are then able to monitor the water quantity and quality on an ongoing basis to determine if there has been any impact as a result of our operations.

Wellbore construction is critical to protecting groundwater. We take great care to design and install effective well casing systems. Proper wellbore construction is critical to protecting groundwater. We take great care to ensure the integrity of the wellbore and eliminate any pathway from the contents of the wellbore to drinking water aquifers.

We ensure sound monitoring and control during all stages of our operations. Monitoring the integrity of the wellbore is extremely important in protecting groundwater throughout the lifecycle of a well. We are diligent in ensuring the wells we drill meet our operational needs without adversely impacting the environment. The integrity of our casing and cement system can be evaluated through field inspection and wellbore logging at any point during the life of a well.

We have developed and implemented a company-wide program to manage the chemicals additives or products we use in our hydraulic fracturing operations. Our Responsible Products Program helps ensure that the hydraulic fracturing fluid products we use in our operations are as safe, effective and as environmentally responsible as possible. The program categorizes the products we use based on their potential health and environmental impacts. After we’ve carefully assessed a specific product, we determine whether we need to implement any operational practices and/or controls or if we should discontinue using the product altogether.

We take a responsible approach to the sourcing, use, transport and disposal of water. Various fluids are used throughout our operations, including drilling and hydraulic fracturing. Proper storage, handling and disposal of these fluids are important in preventing contamination of shallow groundwater. Effectively managing fluid storage and disposal allows us to significantly reduce the potential of the environment being impacted by a surface release of the fluids we use.