One obvious potential consequence of hydraulic fracturing is the removal of high volumes of water from streams and rivers. The NY DEC estimates that the total water required for Marcellus Shale drilling in New York could reach 9 billion gallons of water in a peak development year. This is enough water to fill the Empire State Building over 32 ½ times. Though this amount is dwarfed by the total amount of freshwater withdrawn in New York, which is 10 billion gallons per day, most of the area underlain by the Marcellus Shale in New York are part of headwater areas of river basins. (See Fig. 2 in Marcellus Shale Issue 7: Water – Into the Wells.)