Cat Canyon, oil or water?

My graduate studies were in water and air pollution. I’m on the advisory committee of a nearby Groundwater Sustainability Agency, but I am writing this on my own today and am not speaking for the agency.

More than 100,000 people totally depend on this water. It sustains many thousands of jobs in agriculture. The entire economy, including our home values, requires that there be sufficient water. Further, if the water is not of acceptable quality, if it’s been contaminated by toxic or carcinogenic substances, the size of the aquifer becomes irrelevant. It must remain potable for humans, and safely usable for plants.

In Cat Canyon, there are proposals for more than 750 new oil wells, employing extreme extraction techniques, to be drilled directly through this precious groundwater supply. Accidental spills and breaches of well casings are inevitable. Based on recent documented incidents, there could be more improper or illegal disposal of millions of gallons of oil field wastewater.

If any of these toxic substances finds its way into this essential aquifer, our water could be tainted for decades.

Have there been sufficient hydrogeological studies to address this? Has enough consideration been given to the fact that liquids may take other than expected routes as they migrate underground? Especially considering the natural seismic nature of this area and the additional direct and indirect effects of large-scale oil extraction and its related activities?

There must be a less critical place to drill for oil.

This article appears in Jun 21-28, 2018.