Fear-based attacks target oil and gas industry

Article by David Blackmon. From the San Antonio Express-News, 2-17-14. David Blackmon is managing director of Strategic Communications. Excerpts:

"Now, here are some things the Ceres report and media stories did not tell you:

A recent story in the Houston Chronicle pointed out that the city of Houston alone loses about 22 billion gallons of fresh water in a calendar year due to leaks in its municipal pipeline system;

Texas is home to 19 coal-fired power plants. The combined annual water use of two of them exceeds the total used for Eagle Ford frac jobs in 2013;

Rusty Todd, a UT professor, pointed out to readers of the Wall Street Journal that Texans consume 18 times more water for their lawns than the highest estimates of water use by the oil and gas industry for frac jobs. The EPA estimates Americans consume 9 trillion gallons of water for their lawns every year.

As the Express-News pointed out in its story on the Ceres report, the Texas Water Conservation Board estimates total oil and gas water usage in the state is less than 1 percent of overall water used in the state."

"in 2011, more than 5 billion gallons of oil and gas industry water use came from recycled or brackish water, efforts that have increased dramatically in the last three years."