A closer look at hydraulic fracturing and water use.

• Author: Lewis, David

Colorado is a thirsty state and, as its population grows and jostles for access to [H.sub.2]0, fears arise. One of those is that oil and water don't mix, or at least the oil industry and the state's water supplies won't.

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Colorado has undergone a semiarid winter, and competition between farmers and frackers for water is growing. So is the fear that farmers will go dry.

As with so many of our fears, however, this one tends to evaporate upon close inspection.

In early April the Berthoud-based Northern Water Conservancy District held a water auction. "Fracking bidders top farmers at water auction," read the headline in the Denver Post. "Companies that provide water for hydraulic fracturing at well sites were top bidders on supplies once claimed exclusively by farmers," the story read.

Just one problem: Practically none of the data cited by the story were true.

The true part was that this year's third annual auction featured water-service companies competing with farmers and others, mainly municipalities, for water.

As for the rest, 92 percent of the water auctioned off was claimed by farmers. Only one farmer did not bid successfully for water, and that farmer entered the low bid, the base bid of $9.50. (All numbers are per acrefoot.)

And, the average successful bid price this year was the lowest of the districts' three auctions: the average bid was $28.86 in 2010; $28.71 in 2011; and $25.77 in 2012.

The lowest successful bid price was $22.12 in 2010, $20.25 in 2011, and $11.13 this year.

The top price paid in 2010 was $44; last year and this year it was $40.

"The idea that (oil industry water companies) are driving the price up to where farmers can't afford it, we're not buying that," says Brian Werner, public information officer for the conservancy district. "Yeah, there's more competition, there's no question, and that's probably not a bad thing. We have always evolved what the uses of water are and we will continue to evolve new uses."

It is true, the oil industry's favorite new technology, hydraulic fracturing, relies on pumping water and other liquids deep in the ground. And true, some of that water...