Water scarcity is a challenge facing many Texas communities, and it’s encouraging to see how many state leaders are proactively exploring solutions to our growing water needs. This has brought the oil and gas industry and the massive volumes of water it uses and produces each year into the conversation.
One positive opportunity area exists within the state’s oil and gas sector, which uses large amounts of water to hydraulically fracture, or frack, wells. Operators have begun to reduce their reliance on fresh water by “recycling” wastewater within the oilfield to meet their operational needs – an effort that should be expanded as much as possible to take pressure off fresh resources.
However, serious problems arise when we start to look outside the oilfield and consider oil and gas produced water as a potential “future water supply” beyond industry operations – a topic the Texas legislature is currently considering.