Review and prospects of groundwater pollution control in shale gas exploitation

With the successful development of shale gas in the United States, shale gas has become an effective way to solve the energy crisis. Among a series of environmental problems caused by shale gas exploitation, the most hidden and the most difficult part to control and recover is groundwater pollution in the development zone, which has been paid more and more attention by the government and the public. Starting from the shale gas exploitation process, this paper discusses the research status and problems of shale gas exploitation on groundwater pollution prevention and control from both international and domestic Chinese directions, and considers the future development of groundwater prevention and control work: to strengthen the supervision and management of wastewater treatment; to explore and evaluate shale gas resources and to plan regional water resources; to update and improve relevant environmental laws to strengthen the support for shale gas development; to make public supervision and development transparent; and to optimize the whole development process.