About FreshWater Accountability Project

We advocate for water protection because we care about our children’s future! We want clean water. Through education and factual information, people can work towards meaningful change at the local, state, and federal levels of government to ensure our water is protected; and thus, our future is preserved.

The FreshWater Accountability Project (FWAP) started as a local, nonprofit organization in response to the Muskingum6721194 Watershed Conservancy District’s (MWCD) private water sales to the oil and gas industry in Ohio. FWAP quickly learned how oil and gas drilling (namely, fracking), puts freshwater resources as a risk in many ways.

Millions of gallons of water are used to fracture a single horizontal well. Traditional wells use hundreds of thousands of gallons of water. This is water that cannot reenter the water table. Around the world there are water shortages: now is not the time to take risks with our water by selling it for industrial purposes. In addition to sales, there is irreversible contamination.

Four states have confirmed water contamination related to fracking. Ohio alone had 37 complaints in 2010 and no confirmed contamination of water supplies; 54 complaints in 2011 and two confirmed cases of contamination; 59 complaints in 2012 and two confirmed contaminations; and 40 complaints for the first 11 months of 2013, with two confirmed contaminations and 14 still under investigation.

Ohio, like many states involved in heavy drilling operations, face collusion between government agencies and private industries. This a recipe for destruction and our communities are the collateral damage.

Now is the time for adequate regulatory oversight to safeguard our freshwater resources. Now is the time to make water our priority.

It’s not just big oil and gas that threaten our scarce water supplies: more industries are threatening the earth’s depleting fresh water resources. When 300,000 people had their water contaminated in West Virginia due to a chemical spill related to coal; people caught a glimpse of the devastating impacts of neglect companies and regulatory authorities.

FWAP is dedicated to promoting health by protecting the environment. Please take the time to look at our recent work and ongoing court battles defending the very thing that gives us life. Support our work by making a donation today.