Jaysson Funkhouser of the U.S. Geologic Survey said Wednesday November 28, 2011 that testing of domestic water wells in the Fayetteville Shale area in Van Buren County is complete, and sampling in Faulkner County will begin the end of this month.

More than 70 wells were sampled in Van Buren County with no indicators found for drilling or fracking fluid, the USGS stated.

In addition, select water samples that were tested for methane gas indicated none was present.

A high concentration of iron was found in some wells, USGS reported, but that’s a problem residents have dealt with for years.

In June the Faulkner County Quorum Court approved a $20,000 contract with the USGS to sample water wells in the Fayetteville Shale areas in the county where drilling is under way.

A list of 60-70 Faulkner County homeowners willing to have wells tested has been gathered and the USGS will begin contacting them soon.