Cleaning Up Dirty Fracking Water

Fracking flowback--that doesn't sound like something you want seeping into your drinking water! This dangerous combination of bacteria and other pollutants is a result of natural gas fracking, and without intervention, it might make its way into your faucet.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison say their innovation, called Aquamost, a cost effective and environmentally friendly system that sanitizes wastewater contaminated by fracking.

Previous wastewater treatment systems used peroxide, but this poses harm to both people and the environment. The AquaMost system uses electrically charged titanium plates and ultraviolet lights to kill bacteria, making the process entirely chemical-free.

The creators of AquaMost hope to commercialize their system and take advantage of what could become a billion-dollar fracking industry. Additionally, fracking is an extremely water intensive process, but there is no federal regulation of it.