Burning Water

In the Rosebud River valley, an hour east of Calgary, the water in many homes can be lit on fire. Everyone agrees there's gas in the water. Few agree on why. At Fiona Lauridsen's farm, just outside the hamlet of Rosebud, showering has become a dangerous activity. Fiona and her family developed skin burns from simply taking a shower and Fiona claims that EnCana, Canada's largest natural gas company is responsible. She claims that EnCana has contaminated the aquifer by drilling (fracking) for coal bed methane, a new source of natural gas extraction that often uses chemicals for drilling. Yet in the hamlet, where the Rosebud Theatre is a popular tourist attraction and graciously sponsored by EnCana, most residents refuse to even talk about burning water, for fear of harming the tourist industry.

(Source: DCMP)