Hydraulic fracturing near domestic groundwater wells

Significance Millions of Americans rely on self-supply groundwater wells for drinking water, but the number of these wells that are located near hydraulic fracturing operations is unknown. Here, we show that approximately half of all hydraulically fractured wells stimulated in 2014 exist within 2–3 km of one or more domestic (public and self-supply) groundwater wells. Our finding that many hydraulically fractured and domestic groundwater wells are colocated emphasizes that determining how frequently hydraulic fracturing activities impact groundwater quality is important to maintaining high-quality water in many domestic wells.