Study: Texas Produces 'Massive Amount' Of Produced Water With No Reuse Options

One of the wastewater treatment industry’s most pressing questions — what to do with the water byproducts of oil and gas operations — is proving to be a challenge for regulators in the heart of the energy sector.

“Oil and gas extraction in the Permian Basin of arid West Texas is expected to produce some 558 million gallons of wastewater per day for the next 38 years, according to findings of a state-commissioned study group — three times as much as the oil it produces,” Inside Climate News reported. “But making use of that so-called ‘produced water’ still remains well beyond the current reach of state authorities.”