The Daily Yonder In The Northern Great Plains, a Search for Ways to Protect Drinking Water from Fossil Fuel Industry Pollution North Dakota’s water supplies are at risk from contaminants from fracking wastewater, but residents are fighting back.
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Saltwater leaking into a stream from a massive saltwater spill from an underground pipeline on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation near Mandaree, North Dakota in 2014. Scientists say wastewater spills from oil development in western North Dakota are releasing toxins into soils and waterways. In a report published in 2016, Duke University researchers said they detected high levels of lead, ammonium and other contaminants in surface waters affected by wastewater spills in the Bakken oilfield region. (AP Photo/Tyler Bell, File)
North Dakota Residents Fight Loopholes Allowing Fracking to Poison Their Water
North Dakotaâs water supplies are at risk from contaminants from fracking wastewater, but residents are fighting back.
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Lisa Finley-DeVille started drinking bottled water around the same time her friendâs horses began to get sick and die. A half decade ago on the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota, Deville drove up to see her friend in the New Town area. The horses looked dehydrated and brittle, just skin and bones. Theyâre eating, but itâs like theyâre not eating, her friend told her.
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Editor’s note: This story is part of a nine-month investigation of drinking water contamination across the U.S. The series is supported by funding from the Park Foundation and Water Foundation. Read the launch story, Thirsting for Solutions, here.
Lisa Finley-DeVille started drinking bottled water around the same time her friend’s horses began to get sick and die. A half decade ago on the Fort Berthold Reservation in western North Dakota, Deville drove up to see her friend in the New Town area. The horses looked dehydrated and brittle, just skin and bones. They’re eating, but it’s like they’re not eating, her friend told her.