Although hydraulic fracturing (fracking) activity may require substantial amounts of water, the impact on the water resources in Texas may not be as bad as some market observers think.

Darrel Brownlow, who currently works as a principal at consulting firm Intercoastal Inland Services, attempted to alleviated the concerns of attendees at Hart Energy's Developing Unconventional Gas Eagle Ford Conference & Exhibition by stating that the amount of water being used could be far greater, according to Bizmology. Brownlow also served on the state's Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District between 2002 and 2010

Brownlow stated that although it is reasonable for people to be concerned about water used by industry in a drought, he estimated that the amount of water required for fracking the 83 wells drilled every year per county would produce no more than 625 acres worth of corn.

"We have people coming into South Texas voicing gloom and doom," he stated to an audience on the first day of the conference, the Houston Chronicle reports. "But let's put our water use in perspective. Look at the ratios."