Texas Water Development Board data projects a deficit of 4,759,781 acre-feet per year for the state by 2020. By 2070, that number will jump to almost 9 million. With Texas continuing to attract new businesses and residents, demand for water will continue to increase. How water, a limited resource, is managed by the state, local governments, businesses and individuals will be a deciding factor in the Lone Star State’s future.Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, involves drilling down into the earth’s surface and injecting a high-pressure mixture of water, chemicals and sand to fracture rocks and release gas inside. The extraction process has been around since the late 1940s, but rose to public prominence in the 1990s.

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