Does fracking really use only a small amount of freshwater?
No. Despite frackers' attempts to minimize it by stating freshwater use in terms of a percentage of the fracking fluid mix or of “total water used in the state?”, in gallonage, a typical frack might use about 5,000,000 gallons of precious freshwater, enough annually in Colorado to supply the app. water needs of the city of Aurora, or all of Boulder County. [2,500 wells X 5,000,000 gals ÷ (80-100 gals daily/person) X 365 = 342,000-428,000 people].
It takes about 400 tanker trucks running day and night to deliver this water to the well site, clogging roads, bringing noise and particulate pollution. If instead the fracking operator chooses to run in pipelines, these are often laid along roadways, across private property, through culverts, etc. utilizing leaky pipes and noisy portable pump units along the way.
All told, fracking has used up, polluted and effectively removed from the hydrologic cycle, about 1/4 TRILLION gallons of Colorado freshwater. [50,000 fracked wells X 5,000,000 gallons of freshwater each = 250,000,000,000 gallons]