Water Use

The water we use to fracture shale is not potable. It is taken directly from watercourses, subject to approval by the Ministère du Développement durable, de l’Environnement et des Parcs (MDDEP). Current regulations stipulate that the amount of water taken be limited to 20% or less of average summer low flow to avoid water level fluctuations and protect aquatic ecosystems and other uses.

Fracturing a shale formation requires around 12 000 m³ of water/well—less than is needed to maintain a golf course for one month. The amount of water used to drill 200 horizontal wells adds up to just 1% of the 500 million cubic meters of water used annually by the pulp and paper industry. That’s 100 times less.

To learn more about our environmental record, click here