Danger to water seen in fracking

WA's water regulator says there could be future "conflict" if the gas exploration technique known as fracking encroaches on water sources set aside for drinking.

The Department of Water yesterday appeared before a State Parliamentary inquiry into the implications of fracking in WA, conceding it had concerns about the technology.

Executive director of policy Tad Bagdon said there were three main areas of "interest".

They were the chemicals used, whether the wells had suitable integrity and what happened to the millions of litres of water and chemicals pumped underground.

Fracking, or hydraulic fracturing, unlocks so-called unconventional gas reserves by injecting water and sand at high pressure to fracture rocks holding the gas.

It involves drilling wells vertically and horizontally that often intersect with aquifers.

Mr Bagdon said the department was satisfied with the extent to which it had collaborated on fracking policy discussions in WA.

However, he acknowledged there was potential for conflict if fracking proposals encroached on public water sources and the department had concerns about where the two interacted.

The Conservation Council of WA said fracking was environmentally damaging and it was particularly worried about wells failing.

Director Piers Verstegen said evidence from the US suggested fracking wells failed at a rate between 6 per cent and 7 per cent, invariably acting as a "pathway" for water contamination and air pollution.

He also said there was an alarming lack of baseline data for areas likely to be subjected to fracking, meaning it would be impossible to know if it caused bad environmental outcomes.

Stedman Ellis, from the Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association, dismissed the claims as hyperbole, insisting wells almost never failed and fracking was safe.

"There is no evidence of contamination from fracking of water in any jurisdiction around the world," Mr Ellis said.