Everyone is familiar with the water cut statistics: three to seven barrels of produced water emerge from the ground per barrel of oil. This oft-cited statistic is useful to appreciate the scale of the volumes of water produced in the Permian Basin. However, it does not tell the whole story.
Water is essential to life. And it is a very precious commodity in Israel, home to 9 million people living in a rocky desert that receives about 10 inches of rain a year. By comparison, Denver, considered semi-arid, gets about 15 inches of rain a year, which is about a fourth of the precipitation a tropical city such as Miami receives.
Collaborative research is a critical element for identifying unforeseen risks associated with using the oil industry’s wastewater outside the oilfield. That’s the recommendation of a new peer-reviewed paper accepted this week in the Journal of Integrated Environmental Assessment and Management (IEAM).
Denver Water is redeveloping its 35-acre operations complex with an eye on more than just delivering water.
This is the second of two articles looking at the increasing reliance of Australian cities on desalination plants to supply drinking water, with less emphasis on the alternatives of water recycling and demand management. So what is the best way forward to achieve urban water security?
Most people think as little as possible about the wastewater that is produced daily from their showers, bathtubs, sinks, dishwashers and toilets. But with the right techniques, it can become a valuable resource.
When it comes to answering questions about whether the oil and gas industry’s wastewater can be safely reused for other purposes, like food crops, livestock, or even drinking water, there are a number of other serious factors to be considered.
While San Diego has a reputation for beautiful weather in a sunny seaside setting, its growing population in the southernmost area of rain-starved California is a recipe for trouble in paradise. That challenge has spurred the creation of Pure Water San Diego — a multi-phase, multi-year program with the goal of using recycled water for up to one-third of San Diego’s water supply by the year 2035.
Regulators from across the country met in Vermont this week at the Environmental Council of the State’s (ECOS) fall meeting to discuss some of the nation’s most pressing environmental challenges. I joined members of ECOS’ Shale Gas Caucus to discuss an emerging threat imminently impacting oil and gas-producing states: the question of what to do with the massive amount of wastewater produced by the oil and gas industry each year.
Water has never been more in demand, and innovative approaches to improving water security have never been more imperative. As our global population grows exponentially, cities and towns expand to accommodate new inhabitants, providing the resources and services they need. Rapid agricultural and industrial development continues apace.
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