Fracking Wastewater Bubbles Up Through Parking Lot Of Baptist Church In The Heart Of Texas' Permian Basin

Ed. - And you can only hope that they spend lots of time preaching Prosperity Gospel in the same church.


Water pooling is seen on Tuesday at the First Baptist Church in Grandfalls, Texas. Credit: Courtesy of Schuyler Wight

Salty water is gurgling up from underground in the middle of the small Permian Basin town of Grandfalls, Texas. The liquid began pooling in the parking lot of the First Baptist Church on Tuesday. State inspectors from the Railroad Commission arrived soon after and remained on-site on Wednesday. Nearby landowners suspect oilfield wastewater is pushing up through the wellbore of an old plugged oil well.

It is the latest instance of water bursting to the surface in the Permian Basin, which has been wracked by blow-outs, geysers and surface leaks in the last five years. Oilfield wastewater, known as produced water, is injected underground, increasing pressure below the surface. State regulators acknowledge that excess pressure underground has contributed to other surface leaks in the Permian Basin. The wastewater has extremely high salt content and can contain other contaminants.

Unlike recent blowouts and geysers that occurred on ranches, the latest incident is in the middle of a town that is home to over 300 people. The latest leak is one block from the Grandfalls-Royalty K-12 school and across the street from the historic Union Church, built in 1910. Vacuum trucks were siphoning the liquid off the Baptist Church parking lot on Wednesday. Residents have been warned to keep their distance.

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Laura Briggs, a nearby landowner in Pecos County, said she drove through Grandfalls early Tuesday morning and could already see water accumulating on the street. She said the water appeared to be leaking from under the church sanctuary. Briggs said the building’s cornerstone indicates the church dates to 1955. Any plugged oil well underneath would predate the church. By the time Sarah Stogner, the district attorney for the 143rd Judicial District of Texas which includes Ward County and a longtime oilfield watchdog, arrived on Wednesday afternoon, vacuum trucks had sucked up most of the water. The crew appeared to have drilled a hole in the parking lot and placed hoses into it to collect water. Liquid continued to gurgle to the surface while Stogner took drone footage.


The Railroad Commission’s Geographic Information System shows numerous plugged wells in the city of Grandfalls. The green dots with a cross through them indicate the locations of plugged oil wells.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/23042026/west-texas-permian-basin-oilfield-leak/