Remsol helps inform CIWEM report

Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management, CIWEM, has published an independent and authoritative report on the water risks associated with shale gas extraction and concludes that the risks can be effectively managed through robust best practice.

It acknowledges that hydraulic fracturing, before it has even commenced on any meaningful scale, has become a highly controversial means to produce gas in the UK. This isn’t helped by the polarised and politicised media debate.

CIWEM believes the government, the industry and its regulators could do more to actively promote informed understanding using clear scientific evidence, transparency and consistent messages, across a range of media and forums.

Lee Petts of Preston-based waste management specialists Remsol, spoke at a CIWEM event in November and outlined how Remsol plans to treat the wastewater generated by Cuadrilla Resources in Lancashire. Information supplied during this presentation informed this CIWEM report.

Laura Grant, policy adviser at CIWEM said: “Work by Remsol for Cuadrilla has shown that NORM can be effectively removed from wastewater to produce a solid residue safe for landfill and a liquid that can be discharged to sewer for further biological treatment prior to being returned back to the natural environment and water cycle. Future developments in the industry look promisingly towards more onsite treatment and reuse of fracking fluids.” The report says that management of risks will require a robust regulatory regime to protect the environment and to improve general public confidence in what is presently a highly controversial process, and it is vital that, should an industry develop, there is adequate resource for regulators for enforcement and monitoring.