The amount of water used per well for fracking surged by up to 770 percent between 2011 and 2016 in all major US shale gas- and oil-producing regions, a new study finds. The volume of flowback and produced water that new wells generated during their first year of operation also increased by up to 1,440 percent. If this rapid intensification continues, fracking’s water footprint could grow by up to 50-fold by the year 2030.