Fracking is a method of extracting oil or natural gas from within the earth. During a fracking operation, cracks or seams in the earth’s crust are injected with water at high pressure and widened, releasing the oil or natural gas trapped inside.

This process has taken place across the United States for decades, tapping into reserves stored in basins scattered across the country. Two of those basins – the Marcellus and the Devonian – overlap at different depths in West Virginian panhandle and spread into Ohio and Pennsylvania.

Fracking involves pumping millions of gallons of water, brine, or chemicals, which makes water transfer and storage a critical part of the overall process.

Pipelines that travel to and from water-holding tanks are situated on a level surface called a frack pad. The pipes are used to transfer water – typically a brine mix – from those tanks to the frack sites. This kind of setup historically uses steel pipe.

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