On July 19, 2014, California ordered an immediate shut-down of eleven oil and gas waste injection sites and began reviewing over a hundred other oil drilling sites in the Central Valley. Officials worried that companies were possibly pumping toxic fracking remnants into drinking aquifers. The issue begins with the fact that at least one hundred of California’s water aquifers were deemed useless because of bad water conditions. As a result, the government exempted their environmental protection and the oil industry began polluting them on purpose. Now, in accordance to the state, at least seven aquifers have been contaminated. Reports have indicated that state inspectors have often allowed injections in unsafe conditions. Now, according to state officials, further examination is inevitable.

This article signifies the importance of our water systems, particularly aquifers and other means of purifying water for safe drinking. It also highlights the necessity for proper state inspection of such prominent systems and shows the consequences when done incorrectly. The article states that there is no hard evidence of unsafe drinking water, however there were definitely toxic fracking fluids that inadvertently ended up in water wells.

Feldman, J. (2014, July 19). California Shuts Down Injection Of Fracking Waste To Protect             Scarce Water. The Huffington Post. Retrieved September 8, 2014, from

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/07/19/california-fracking-contamination_n_5600512.html