“Oil Industry’s Toxic Wastewater Threatens California Water Supplies.”Sacbee. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Mar. 2015.

http://www.sacbee.com/opinion/op-ed/soapbox/article10718264.html

 

In California, oil industries produce about 130 billion gallons of wastewater per year. Documents revealed that state regulators allowed the oil industries to drill more than 2,400 illegal injections wells. This was for wastewater disposal and oil production into protected California aquifers. This illegal injection was not just in one part of the state but throughout the state. Even though many were already shut down, some are still shooting oil industry wastewater into underground water resource that should be protected. Not only are the oil industries dumping into wells, but also to open pits. In the Central Valley, water officials state that a least 383 of these sumps lack permits. There are fracked wells that contain benzene at levels as high as 1500 times the federal limits for drinking water. The levels were 700 times the federal limits for drinking water. 98% of operators found a level over the limit.

The illegal injections in wells needs to stop. As we can all see, it is not doing anyone any good. It does not do the state any good knowing that it is not just in one part of the state but all over. 130 billion gallons of wastewater per year is a lot that can do us harm. This is not just being dropped into wells but to open pits as well. The best thing that can be done in order to slowly decrease the amount of wastewater being dumped is to stop the oil industries. The sooner they stop dumping, the sooner this issue can be resolved. Also, there needs to be more attention towards these industries. Many lacked permits and had they been stopped sooner, this issue could have been fixed as well.