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California Farmers Using Fracking Water Bought From Oil Companies

© Flickr / Faces of FrackingBetween 2000 and 2013, approximately 9.4 million people, and 6,800 sources of drinking water were located within one mile of a fracking well, according to the EPA.
Between 2000 and 2013, approximately 9.4 million people, and 6,800 sources of drinking water were located within one mile of a fracking well, according to the EPA. - Sputnik International
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Farmers in Kern County, California, have been irrigating their crops with waste water supplied by oil companies in a move that’s leaving a bad taste in the mouths of environmentalists, who are calling it a pact with the devil. But, farmers in California have not had it easy.

Farmers in California have not had it easy.

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The state has endured four years of record drought with summer temperatures frequently exceeding 104 degrees Fahrenheit.  Drawing from the water table is also a challenge as more than 1,000 wells have dried up.

But there, is another option.

The Cawelo Water District, a cooperative financed by local farmers, has spent the last 20 years buying water from oil companies – Kern County is home to 80 percent of the state’s oil production.

Abby Auffant, a spokeswoman for Chevron, explains that the company supplies farmers with water which it must separate from crude oil.

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Chevron provides more than 500,000 barrels of water a day to the Cawleo Water District, which relies on Chevron for 50 percent of its supplies.

The water is filtered and then piped to a reservoir, where it’s combined with supplies from neighboring oil plants before finally being mixed with fresh water.

Chevron has a permit for this practice. The water is tested by a third party before results are sent to California authorities.

Farmers pay about $33 per acre-foot compared to up to $1,500 for the same quantity of fresh water, said David Ansolabehere, head of the water distribution cooperative.

But, environmentalists aren’t buying.

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