Spatial and Temporal Impacts on Water Consumption in Texas from Shale Gas Development and Use

Despite the water intensity of hydraulic fracturing, recent life cycle analyses have concluded that increased shale gas development will lead to net decreases in water consumption if the increased natural gas production is used at natural gas combined cycle power plants, shifting electricity generation away from coal-fired steam cycle power plants. This work expands on these studies by estimating the spatial and temporal patterns of changes in consumptive water use in Texas river basins during a period of rapid shale gas development and use in electricity generation from August 2008 through December 2009. While water consumption decreased in Texas overall, some river basins saw increased water consumption and others saw decreased water consumption, depending on the extent of extraction activity in the basin, the mix of power plants using cooling water in that basin, and price-based changes in the power sector. Due to the temporal and spatial heterogeneity in the consumptive water impacts of natural gas development and use in the power sector, local and regional water use impacts must also be considered in addition to the overall supply chain impacts.