By Jason Doyle Oden
Governor Fallin wants to find a way to use the water which comes up with oil and natural gas instead of injecting it back into disposal wells. During the annual Oklahoma Governor’s Water Conference and Research Symposium in Norman, Fallin announced she had formed a fact-finding work group to look at ways that produced water, also known as waste water, can be recycled or reused.
The Water for 2060 Produced Water Working Group will be led by Oklahoma Water Resources Board Director J.D. Strong. Members of the working group will come from agriculture, electricity producers, public water systems, oil and gas industry, industrial water users, environmental interests, the Department of Environmental Quality, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission.
“Opening appropriate and environmentally responsible avenues for beneficial use of reclaimed produced water will require coordination across industry sectors and regulatory agencies,” said Fallin.
The Governor said the working group also could help find solutions to Oklahoma’s recent connection between wastewater disposal wells and the increased number of strong earthquakes.
“In addition to the opportunities to save fresh water by reusing and recycling oil- and gas-produced water, I’m equally interested in looking at alternatives to deep well disposal of this resource,” she said. “What a win-win for all if we can turn wasted water into a useful resource, while at the same time reducing seismic activity caused by deep well injection.”
Places like Pennsylvania and west Texas already force oil and gas companies to find ways to reuse or recycle the produced water.
Nearly 1.5 billion barrels of produced water were disposed underground in Oklahoma last year.
