A Nature Conservancy study funded by the Robertson Foundation and published by the open-access Public Library of Science (PLoS) in January 2014, assessed potential impacts of future energy development on water resources in the Marcellus play region.
Global demand for energy has increased by more than 50 percent in the last half-century, and a similar increase is projected by 2030. This demand will increasingly be met with alternative and unconventional energy sources. Development of these resources causes disturbances that strongly impact terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems. The Marcellus Shale gas play covers more than 160,934 km2 in an area that provides drinking water for over 22 million people in several of the largest metropolitan areas in the United States (e.g. New York City, Washington DC, Philadelphia & Pittsburgh). In this study, probability surfaces representing development potential of wind and shale gas for portions of six states in the Central Appalachians were created. Researchers used these predictions and published projections to model future energy build-out scenarios to quantify future potential impacts on surface drinking water.
