By Peter Chawaga
As water scarcity worsens across the U.S., the most drought-stricken regions are turning to innovative conservation processes that can make a positive difference. And now, new progress is being made in New Mexico toward that end.
“New Mexico environmental officials have proposed a new regulatory framework for reusing wastewater with a focus on the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling in a major U.S. production zone,” the Associated Press reported. “New Mexico, the No. 2 state for oil production behind Texas, is looking to its energy sector and water-intensive fracking as a potential source of treated water for industrial applications — and to offset water demands that are depleting freshwater aquifers amid drought.”
New Mexico’s governor outlined a related proposal during a recent UN climate conference. She described it as a public-private initiative for which the state would outline purification standards and set a market price for treated produced water that will attract private desalinization and treatment facilities. The treated produced water could then be utilized in industrial applications so that they do not draw from other sources.
But this newly proposed framework would enable a complementary effort focused on refreshing groundwater supplies, which are badly imperiled throughout the Southwest.
“We need to protect our fresh groundwater supplies not only from degradation or contamination but from overuse,” John Rhoderick, director of New Mexico’s water protection division, told the Associated Press. “We need to do everything we can to maintain those supplies because they’re not being replenished.”
As water scarcity grows worse and oil and gas extraction increases, solutions like the ones being explored in New Mexico could gain traction in states facing similar issues, like Texas. As a result, produced water could become a bountiful new source to fight scarcity.
“In 2021, the state’s oil and gas industry generated about 60 billion gallons of produced water,” per the Albuquerque Journal. “That’s over 160 million gallons per day, which is equal to the state’s total daily municipal water consumption.”
To read more about how water systems around the country are evolving to overcome drought issues, visit Water Online’s Water Scarcity Solutions Center.
