How are Appropriate Water Sources for Hydraulic 

Fracturing Determined? Pre-development 

Conditions and Management of Development 

Phase Water Usage

Red River Watershed Management 

Institute - LSU Shreveport

Gary Hanson, Director

Amanda Lewis, Assistant to Director

USEPA Hydraulic Fracturing Study Water 

Management Workshop

March 29, 2011 
Haynesville 

Shale

LSUS Red River Watershed 

Management Institute

AAPG, 2007

Haynesville 

Shale

Marcellus 

Shale

Eagle Ford 

Shale

Barnett Shale

Fayetteville 

Shale

Woodford 

Shale
Appropriate water sources of hydraulic 

fracturing (fracing) in shale gas plays

• Groundwater (potable)

• Groundwater (non-potable)

• Surface water

• Treated wastewater 

• Produced brackish or saltwater

• No water - LPG
LSU Shreveport and Red River Education & Research Park

Red River Education 

& Research Park

LSU Shreveport

Red River

Anderson Watershed 

Research Station

LSUS Red River Watershed Management Institute

A Partnership between the City of 

Shreveport and LSU Shreveport
Evolving Community-based Nature Education & Research 

Park Model (Red River Education & Research Park)

An adaptive model - Based on "Sense of Place" institution building

The Institute and the 

Park have been 

developed as flexible 

institutions, from the 

start, solving realworld problems by 

constantly adapting

A River – Red River

A City – Shreveport

A University – LSUS

An Education & Research 

Park
Using a suite of borehole logs to 

evaluate Red River Alluvial Aquifer 

& Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer 

LSUS students using Geoprobe to 

develop monitoring well in Red 

River Alluvial Aquifer

Red River Education & Research Park

“Not scared of dirt,

willing to work”
LSUS

Red River 

Watershed

Management Institute

Community

University

Local, State & 

Federal Agencies

Institute Model 

A Watershed Approach

A NEUTRAL ENTITY
CADDO PARISH COMMITTEE EVOLVED INTO A REGIONAL 

“WATER RESOURCES COMMITTEE OF NW LOUISIANA”

Water Availability
The Committee was formed by the Caddo Parish President, a concerned citizen 

& Director of the RRWMI. As WRCNL evolved, more issues arose, & it became 

more flexible & adapted to solve new challenges.

Water Resources Committee of Northwest Louisiana 

Watershed Based - Volunteer Committee

A Self-organizing Institution 

– formed to protect water 

quality & quantity
Wilcox Aquifer Potentiometric Surface
Wilcox Aquifer Recharge Potential

Red 

River 

Alluvial 
Water Energy Working Group – Meeting at LSU Shreveport

WG became more flexible & adapted to issues before or as they arose

Co-chairs: Directors of Red River Watershed Management 

Institute & Red River Waterway Commission 

Early on & on a voluntary basis, most 

Haynesville operators reduced their use of 

groundwater

Participants:

US Army Corps of Engineers Vicksburg (USACE)

Red River Waterway Commission, LAF&WS, LADEQ

Red River Watershed Management Institute (LSUS)

Red River Valley Assoc., Sabine River Authority, 

Caddo Levee District, Bossier Levee District, La 

DOTD, U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, Chesapeake , 

Questar, EnCana, Petrohawk, Camterra , JW, Exco, 

Shell, El Paso, Titanium Env. , Louisiana Oil & Gas 

Assoc., Red River Pump, Impact Energy Services, 

Water Resources Committee of Northwest Louisiana, 

and International Paper Company, Mansfield
LSUS

CLOSE COORDINATION BETWEEN WATER ENERGY 

WORKING GROUP & OFFICE OF CONSERVATION 

HAS BEEN CRITICAL FOR SUCCESS

LSUS

RRWMI
Water level appeared to be dropping rapidly in this 

area of heavy drilling & hydraulic fracturing 

Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. 

Involve me and I learn. Benjamin Franklin

South Camp

250

252

254

256

258

J A S O D J F M A M J J A S N J F A M J

Month

Water Level (ft)

2008 2010

Caddo Parish/LSUS GW Monitoring

Winter-Spring

Summer Summer

Lewis and Hanson, 2010
Caddo Ph/LSUS Wilcox Monitoring Well Project

2008 2011
Caddo Ph/LSUS Wilcox Monitoring Well Project

2008 2011
The Times (Shreveport) - This article is a good example of how 

the press can inform and educate the public

Vickie Welborn, 2009

1400 GPM

25-125 GPM
Solutions - Alternative surface water frac sources

EXCO has built a 9 mile pipeline in order to use treated 

wastewater from International Paper Co. at Mansfield, La.

12 million gallons/day The Times, 2010
EXCO’s 9-mile wastewater pipeline

IPCO

Solutions - Alternative surface water frac sources

Baseline Water Quality Study of Aquifers in 

Bossier, Caddo & De Soto Parishes 

Louisiana Geological Survey Hydrologist/Geologist Doug Carlson (right) & 

Marty Horn (middle) and Gary Hanson (left), LSU Shreveport 

LSU & LSU Shreveport 

working together. Up to 

1000 domestic wells will 

be sampled & analyzed
Source Louisiana Department of Natural Resources (2010)

After D. Carlson et al, 2011

Frac Water Use – Haynesville Shale
Location of this 

study’s 

first 450 wells

Has Wilcox Aquifer Water Quality 

Changed in the Past Three Years in 

Response to Haynesville Hydraulic 

Fracturing Activity?

Douglas Carlson & Marty Horn 

Louisiana Geological Survey

&

Thomas Van Biersel

Louisiana Department of Natural 

Resources
Location of current match set of wells ~75

D. Carlson et al, 2011

Location of Caddo Parish wells previously sampled
June 1, 2010 to December 31, 2011

This study will create a base data set of water quality that 

will include 950-1,050 samples analyzed for: Arsenic, 

Boron, Bromide, Cadmium, Calcium, Chloride, 

Chromium, Copper, Fluoride, Iron, Lead, Magnesium, 

Manganese, Nickel, Nitrate, Nitrite, Potassium, 

Phosphorus, Phosphate, Rubidium, Sulfate, Silicon, 

Sodium, Strontium, TDS, and Zinc. The number of 

values of chloride is approximately five times larger than 

those in Rapp’s (1996) and even larger for other 

parameters when compared to Rapp’s study which was 

the largest study previously.

D. Carlson et al, 2011
Stratigraphy

Difference of chemistry

among Wilcox sands

D. Carlson et al, 2011
D. Carlson et al, 2011
0.1

1

10

100

1000

calcium concentration (mg/L)

upper sand

lower sand

0.1

1

10

100

magnesium concentration (mg/L)

upper sand lower sand

Calcium Magnesium

D. Carlson et al, 2011
0.001

0.01

0.1

1

10

nitrate concentration (mg/L)

upper sand

lower sand

Manganese Nitrate

0

0.02

0.04

0.06

0.08

0.1

0.12

0.14

0.16

0.18

0.2

manganese concentration (mg/L)

upper sand lower sand

top of whisker is 0.774 mg/L

D. Carlson et al, 2011
1

10

100

1000

sodium concentration (mg/L)

upper sand

lower sand

1

10

100

1000

chloride concentration (mg/L)

upper sand

lower sand

Sodium Chloride

D. Carlson et al, 2011
Summary – Interim Report

1. There have been generally small changes in water chemistry

2. Uncertainty of change tends to increase with decreasing ion 

concentration

3. Changes are mixed, 6 indicate downward flow of water and 

3 indicate upward flow of water

4. Only 4 changes are significant, 2 indicate upward flow and

2 indicate downward flow

5. These mixed results appear to support the idea of downward

flow

6. Possible candidates of wells causing downward flow are 

public supply and other domestic wells, NOT rig wells

D. Carlson et al, 2011


Acknowledgements:

US EPA Region 6

City of Shreveport

AEP SWEPCO

LSU Shreveport & LSU System

Halliburton

Anderson Oil & Gas

Louisiana Dept. of Natural Resources & 

Office of Conservation

The Parishes of Caddo, DeSoto, Bossier & 

Webster, Sabine River Authority & Red River 

Waterway Commission & Metropolitan 

Planning Commission

Members of the Water Energy Working Group

Louisiana Geological Survey

Union County Conservation Commission

Thank you!