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Oil and Gas Boom Depleting South Texas Aquifers

Fracking operations are consuming more and more water in the Rio Grande Valley as the region continues to suffer from the effects of unprecedented drought.

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Credit: Bob Daemmrich

Fracking operations are consuming more and more water in the Rio Grande Valley as the region continues to suffer from the effects of unprecedented drought. As Time magazine reports, falling water levels in the aquifers are pitting residents against one another and the interests of farmers against those of the oil and gas industry. "We have a ticking time bomb," one rancher in the region says.

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