The multidisciplinary research, one of the first studies of its kind regarding fracking’s effects on smaller watershed levels in this particular region, was conducted by civil engineering major Brady Harmon; Lauren H. Logan, Ph.D., assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering; Christopher Spiese, Ph.D., associate professor of chemistry and assistant dean for the College of Arts & Sciences; and Ryan Rahrig, Ph.D., associate professor of math and statistics.

Logan’s fracking expertise stems from her studies, which have provided her with additional perspective from what she experienced as a child growing up in Athens, Ohio, not far from where fracking occurs.

She learned about the method during graduate school; a hydrogeology course taught about the science and mechanics of fracking and the potential for water reduction in the surrounding area. Her Ph.D. research focused on ecological impacts in waterways from power infrastructure.

“My dissertation research highlighted thermal pollution from thermoelectric power plants (e.g. coal, nuclear and natural gas), but I had always wanted to dig deeper, pun intended, into fracking and its impact on waterways,” she said.

Logan remembers an anti-fracking billboard that appeared in her region when she was a child, suggesting the water was not safe to drink. There are places in the U.S. where this is the case, such as the lead problem in Flint, Michigan, and when algae blooms occur in Lake Erie, she said, but are considered outliers among the larger U.S. drinking water infrastructure.

As a scientist, she now knows about the regulatory measures to keep people safe. “The U.S. public water supplies are tested daily and follow the Safe Drinking Water Act requirements. …

That anti-fracking billboard scared me. Now, as an adult, for me it isn’t about whether fracking is right or wrong, but about how we manage wells and accurately report the impacts in a scientific, but also easy-to-understand way,” she said.

Rahrig’s mathematical work proved integral to data deciphering and translation. He said he enjoyed the interdisciplinary nature of the research.

“As a statistician, I welcome opportunities to collaborate with faculty in their research areas,” said Rahrig. “This project involved a very large amount of data, and I enjoyed developing and implementing methods that enabled the information to be analyzed thoroughly. “

Spiese and Logan said this study was conducted from a purely scientific perspective, with no policy approach in mind, but that doesn’t mean its results couldn’t have additional impact.

“As a scientist, I aim to be an honest broker – I don’t have an agenda,” Spiese said. “I’m not out here as a firm anti-fracking warrior, but neither am I a pro-fracking fanatic. I want to present the data so that it informs debates and hopefully leads to better policies and conclusions.”

He said while he’s presented their findings at multiple conferences, Harper has also shared their work with other environmental groups and sent some commissioned reports to all Ohio legislators.

Logan teaches fracking in her geotechnical engineering course. “Disseminating the information to future engineers, with a balanced and fair representation, is key to the continuation of fracking research,” Logan adds. “In fact, this is why I brought Brady Harmon into the project since he is planning to pursue graduate studies in the future with a focus on environmental engineering.”

And, “one can always do more research!” Logan pointed out. “The question becomes, ‘Which question should we ask next?’ How can we take the results from this work and move forward to increase our understanding of the water impacts from hydraulic fracking?”