A Los Angeles councilman joined environmental activists Wednesday in calling for a statewide ban on fracking and similar well-stimulation techniques, saying at least 2 million gallons of water are “wasted” each day in drought-stricken California through the oil and gas drilling process.
Councilman Paul Koretz, who is spearheading an effort to limit fracking within Los Angeles, said a statewide moratorium is necessary, at least while California’s historic drought continues.
Activists from the Food & Water Watch said the governor should use his “executive” powers to institute the ban on fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, which uses injections of water combined with chemicals to break through rocks in order to release trapped oil or natural gas.
“We need to take a cold, hard look at how we use, and how we risk, our water supply here in California,” Koretz said.
“Fracking not only uses millions of gallons of water, it turns them into a toxic sludge” that gets pushed into the ground through the process, potentially contaminating groundwater, he said.
Brenna Norton, an organizer for the Food & Water Watch, said the fracking solutions often include hydrochloric and hydrofluoric acids.
