DILLEY — Ranchers say the large amounts of water used to hydraulically fracture wells in South Texas just adds to their worries about water usage in the middle of a historic drought.

The ranchers talked about their concerns following a noon talk Thursday by Robert Traylor, a geologist who is an advisor to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality whose job will shift to the Texas Railroad Commission on Sept. 1.

Traylor spent more than an hour explaining how hydraulic fracturing works to a group of about 40 ranchers and landowners. Most own land in the Eagle Ford shale of South Texas, where hydraulic fracturing of wells is commonplace.

Traylor sought to assuage concerns ranchers may have about contamination of the water wells and groundwater. Vertical wells protect aquifer water by using steel casing and cement.

During drilling, explosive charges may be used to perforate the well’s steel pipe and cement surrounding it. Then operators use hydraulic fracking to pump a mixture of fluids down the well under pressure, creating small fissures in the rock that allow the oil and gas to escape.

The industry uses sophisticated listening devices to monitor what’s happening, "so we know when and where rock is breaking," Traylor said.

It takes an average of 5 million gallons of water to frack a well, according to a study by the South Central Texas Regional Water Planning Group.

Ranchers said they found the session valuable, yet water use remains a worry.

“My biggest concern,” said Colice Watts, who owns a recreation ranch in Dimmitt County, “is the level of the water table. The land down here is no good without water. I’ve heard of wells going dry, but who do you blame? I just think that in a drought like this, we don’t need to be using more and more water.”

Traylor said Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer is vast and has ample water. He said drilling companies contract with landowners to use their water for fracking, or they purchase it elsewhere and have it trucked in.

Yet increasing use of water has Karl Kinsel, a landowner in LaSalle County who’s executive director of the Texas Deer Association, worried about whether there will be enough water for cattle and wildlife.

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Kinsel said he’s aware that far more water is used for cultivation of crops than is used to frack wells, but he fears use of surface water eventually could be restricted. “That would change what water is available for surface use,” Kinsel said.

Mike Mahoney, executive director of the Evergreen Underground Conservation District, agreed that there’s plenty of water in the Carrizo aquifer. There’s no curtailment of water usage now, he said following the talk.

The drought is the immediate threat, he said. “The big question now is now long the drought will last,” Mahoney said.

Traylor’s talk was sponsored by the Texas and Southwestern Cattle Raisers Association and Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Frio County.

As originally published, this story contained an error.