Residents in West Texas experienced another jolt early on Monday morning as a series of earthquakes shook the region, continuing a pattern of increased seismic activity and all-round strange happenings.
The largest of the quakes, with a magnitude of 3.4, struck near the small town of Toyah, home to 61 people where a mysterious 100ft geyser recently sprung into the air.
While Monday’s tremor caused no reported damage, it was strong enough to be felt by people in surrounding areas, sparking renewed debate about its potential causes.
The town has also been subjected to a rotten egg smell that has been hanging in the air for the last two months.
A huge geyser has been shooting water more than 100ft into the air which can be seen for miles around in Toyah, Texas
The site was the location of a dry well in the 1960s but hasn’t been used in decades
A small earthquake was felt on Monday near Toyah, Texas measuring 3.4 in magnitude
The stench came after a well that exploded sending a stream of chemical water upwards into the sky so high that it could be seen from 7 miles away in Reeves County.
When the fire department arrives on scene to deal with the exploding wells and blasts of water, they’re powerless with little they can do to contain the geyser.
‘There’s not a whole lot we can do,’ said Reeves County Emergency Services Chief Ronald Lee to the Texas Tribune. ‘There’s nothing that we have the equipment to do.’
Those living in the area are concerned the leaks and blowouts might contaminate clean water sources, not to mention the toxic chemicals being blasted into the air each time, including methane which contributes to climate change.
The Railroad Commission of Texas has spent $25million to plug known orphaned wells and is about to receive an additional cash injection of $80million.
Workers are able to visit the site of the geyser but are powerless to do anything about it
The wells are often abandoned water sources or oil well which have run dry – but have suddenly started to spout once again
Sarah Stogner uses a drone to get images and video of a geyser of produced water in West Texas as it comes out of the ground in Toyah
Yet there appears to be no way to plug the orphaned wells before they blow with communities also not equipped to deal with them.
The commission has so far plugged 737 wells which is only about 10 percent of the number of estimated orphaned wells in Texas.
Part of the problem is also down to lax regulations with companies simply abandoning wells after they no longer produce oil or water rather than properly sealing them.
Toyah’s well, for example, is 11,331 feet deep, and was drilled in 1961 by El Paso Gas Company. It had been inactive for decades.
In terms of seismic activity, according to the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), which monitors seismic events nationwide, Monday’s quake was part of a larger trend of frequent earthquakes in Texas.
Two additional, smaller tremors – a 1.3 magnitude quake near Coahoma and a 1.6 magnitude quake elsewhere in the region – were also recorded on Monday morning.
Although minor, they are part of a growing number of quakes in the state.
West Texas has seen a notable uptick in seismic activity over the past several years.
In September, a 5.1 magnitude earthquake sent shockwaves across the state, with tremors felt as far as San Antonio and Austin.
Toyah’s well, for example, is 11,331 feet deep, and was drilled in 1961 by El Paso Gas Company. It had been inactive for decades.
The jet of water is so high it can be seen from 7 miles away
Constant earthquakes in Toyah, a tiny town of 61 people, has called some structural damage
This was followed by another significant event in October, when a 3.5 magnitude quake shook the Toyah area.
A shake of such magnitude can cause hanging objects to swing, but damage is unlikely to occur as a result.
Experts say these stronger quakes signal a concerning rise in both the frequency and intensity of seismic events.
The spike in earthquakes has led many to scrutinize the region’s booming oil and gas industry, particularly practices such as fracking and wastewater disposal.
Hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, involves injecting high-pressure fluid into underground rock formations to extract oil and gas, while wastewater from these operations is often disposed of by injecting it back into the ground.
Some scientists and environmentalists believe these activities could be linked to the surge in earthquakes.
An abandoned gas station at Toyah, Reeves County, in Texas
Toyah, a town of just 61 people is something of a ghost town these days
West Texas, the proud oil-drilling capital of America, is now also on the cusp of becoming the earthquake capital of America
Although the direct cause of Monday’s earthquakes is still under investigation, the USGS has previously highlighted improper wastewater disposal as a potential trigger for seismic activity.
The rate of earthquakes in the broader Eagle Ford Shale has risen significantly since 2018,’ said Justin Rubinstein, a geophysicist with the USGS.
He added that not only have the quakes become more frequent, but their magnitudes have also increased over time.
Local officials and residents have voiced growing concerns.
Some have taken to social media to express frustration, blaming the oil and gas industry for what they see as an unnatural increase in seismic activity.
Meanwhile, municipalities such as Midland have clashed with industry leaders, pushing for stricter regulations on wastewater disposal to mitigate the risk of future quakes.
Oil is the name of the game in West Texas with these pumpjacks located in the middle of a residential neighborhood in Midland, Texas
An oil pumpjack is shown through the window of a damaged home in March
While investigations into the cause of these seismic events could take months, the Texas Tribune recently reported on the mounting tensions between local governments and the oil industry.
The USGS continues to monitor the region closely, urging caution and preparedness as the frequency of earthquakes shows no signs of slowing down.
As seismic activity becomes a regular occurrence in West Texas, the debate over the environmental impact of oil and gas production is likely to intensify.
For now, residents remain on edge, bracing for the possibility of more quakes in the weeks and months ahead.