Produced Water
From the President’s Desk: The Governor’s ‘Strategic Water Supply’ and the Million Dollar Contractor’s ‘Feasibility Study’
You won’t learn from the Feasibility Study Review Draft that desalination of Permian Basin fracking wastewater, the explicit 2028 goal of the Governor’s 50-Year Water Action Plan, would require all the energy from multiple San Juan Generating Station-sized power plants to produce a maximum of 65,000 acre-feet of treated water and an equal amount of concentrated, hazardous waste. You also won’t learn that desalination of 100,000 acre-feet per year of deep brackish water would require the equivalent of building three and a third El Paso Kay Bailey Hutchison desalination projects.
Read MoreOil and Gas Audacity
The oil and gas industry, enabled by our Governor and New Mexico regulatory agencies, is making a significant political push for the treatment and reuse of fracking wastewater. Unfortunately, their campaign relies more on disinformation than on scientific facts.
Read MoreSpending on an Unstrategic Badwater Not-Much-of-a-Supply
The so-called strategic water supply is the opposite, like “produced water” as a name for toxic oil field waste. It is not beginning with the end in mind. It is not putting first things first. It is not informed by facts and science. It is unvetted. It is wrong.
Read MoreState engineer pauses groundwater permits
The Albuquerque Journal published “State engineer pauses groundwater permits” in its April 4, 2021 issue, addressing oil and gas use of fresh water in southeastern New Mexico. Following are excerpts of the article plus additional related information. State Engineer John D’Antonio has restricted new groundwater permits in three basins of far southeastern New Mexico to study…
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