Hydrodfracturing a residential well

[MarshfieldTimC]

My well production has diminished to the point where I need to do something about it. I was getting about 2 gpm, but now am getting 1/3 gpm. The well has 40' of 6" casing, drilled through 30' of clay overburden and 160' of granite below that. I am considering having a local well driller 'hydrofract' the well, but have some concerns.
How is water quality affected?
Could radon (not present now) concentrations increase?
Are surface impacts (to building foundations, neighboring wells, etc.) possible?
Has anyone had problems with a hydrofractuing project?
Any comments/information is appreciated.

 

[BigInch]

What's below the granite? In other words, what kind of structure is producing the water now? Hydrofracing is more effective in some types of layers and not effective in others.

If radon is not present now, its more likely that you won't get any. Radon, as far as I know, usually has a general distribution rather than being totally contained in particular pockets with none to be found in the surrounding zones. Chances are that, if you haven't found it yet, you won't find it anywhere near enough to affect your well after fracing, if you've seen no traces of it so far.

Water quality may be affected by the type of structure that you attempt to frac. Its possible that quality may be temporarily affected while fractured materials are cleared and return to better levels afterwards. Water may be purposely introduced and circulated in the frac affected zone to attempt to clear fractured particles immediately.

Sometimes fracs don't work. Overfracing can sometimes destroy the water bearing properties of the formation by causing the existing fissures to nearly, or entirely collapse once fracing pressure is removed.

At the depths you are talking about, there is little likelyhood of affecting anything at the surface, however again depending on the formation, damage to surrounding wells could be at least a slight possibility. You'll need to assure that your contractor is very "well" experienced with the formation you're fracing and that he has done many more than just one frac into that formation with similar characteristics and at similar depths. Do not accept his word alone, if he is unknown personally to you. Get his previous work references and make the rounds to at least check a couple of random cases he has given you. There may be additional records of his work at the state or county water control authority.

Your contractor should be able to determine to what extent the surrounding formation will be affected. If there is another well in the area that could be affected, you should probably consider abandoning your fracing plan, or at least take extreme measures in advance to prevent potential legal troubles and try to obtain evidence now that could help you later. Personally, I would recommend that you do nothing that has any possibility to affect a neighbor's wells, unless you can somehow get his firm agreement first and then approved by your very good personal lawyer, but it still could be dangerous. If a critical well loses production, or quality, you can bet on a fight of some kind, maybe not totally via legal means only.

Obtain signed and verified statements, or even better, previous metered records of produced water from closeby wells before your fracing and save them to compare with production records afterwards, should they be needed. You should try to have solid evidence that there was no change in the production of surrounding wells after you have concluded your fracing operation.

**********************
"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/

 

[MarshfieldTimC]

Thanks for the reply BigInch.
The granite layer extends for 30' below ground to the bottom of the well at 190' below ground. I assume there is more granite below the bottom of the well.
The closest neighboring well is over 400' away from my well. A well driller that I talked with is comfortable with the seperation of neighboring wells. He recommends 2 to 3 frac's, beginning at 60' below ground. I am familiar with the well driller and trust his judgement and experience.
I was almost convinced that 'frac'n' was the way to go however your post points out some valid concerns. I do not want to have to ask my neighbors permission to 'frac' but also do not want to blatently do it anyway. Somehow I will have to find middle ground on this issue.

 

[bimr]

In Groundwate and Wells by Fletcher G. Driscoll, the writer states in example of a New Hampshire residential well.

Two wells with depths of 479 ft and 300 ft were located 680 feet apart. Capacity of the wells increased by 400% after hydrofracturing. In addition, after hydrofracturing, the wells became connected hydraulically.

Hydrofracturing can increase water yield, improve reliability of water yield, reduce sediment in the water, increase water storage in the well and reduce pumping costs.

Groundwater laws provide an unsound and confusing base upon which to attempt to resolve groundwater problems. Your right to use the groundwate will depend on where you live. 14 of the States have appropriation based groundwater laws based on first in time, first in right. The rest of the States have reasonable use or absolute ownership laws that will allow you to develop the well without being unlawful if the withdrawals injure a neighbor.

 

[BigInch]

OK, so the well draws water from a (presumedly) somewhat fissured granite structure then? I was having a hard time crossing oil/gas experience with granite, being more familiar with lime, sandstones and salt. I would think that a somewhat fissured granite would generally be a good fracing candidate, provided that you could get the pressure you need to open it up a bit. Adjusting from 8,000 foot depth to 160 feet tells me you can get the pressure you'll need on site. Furthermore, it would likely break up cleanly and you would have only temporary quality issues, if any at all. The frac affected surrounding zone would depend in a large part on the degree and extent of existing fissures and their directions, so I can't possibly say anything there except driller's experience counts. I'd suggest you make a date for BBQ pow-wow session with your neighbors, invite the drilling contractor and as bimr suggests, get a handle on the state law, but try to get a working agreement without resorting to the letter of the law if there is any way you can possibly do that. Then use the law to protect you, if it allows for that and for some reason in the future you need to. Otherwise, let it protect your neighbor. That's what its there for.
Good luck.

**********************
"The problem isn't working out the equation,
its finding the answer to the real question." BigInch

http://virtualpipeline.spaces.live.com/