New Mexico Desalination Association held meeting to discuss the reuse of produced water
More than half of New Mexicans surveyed said they would drink treated wastewater from the oil and gas industry, according to a poll conducted by the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium (NMPWRC.)
Produced water, an industry term for wastewater generated by oil and gas extraction, is water trapped underground that can resurface during drilling. It is normally disposed of via wells, and is heavy in brine and chemicals which is toxic for human consumption.
The New Mexico Desalination Association (NMDesal), in a March 23 meeting via Zoom, featured guest speaker Deborah Dixon a fellow from the NMPWRC.
Dixon has had more than 40 years as a professional engineer with a range of roles and projects that emphasize water resources and public works.
“The Consortium is responsible for engaging in public outreach that will improve public understanding of produced water treatment research and expected impacts to public and environmental health and safety for fit-for-purpose reuse of treated produced water,” Dixon said.
The NMPWRC was established in 2019 to research and fill gaps in the reuse of produced water and it’s purpose outside oil and gas. This includes education and the safety of management agencies on the reuse of produced water.
According to a press release by NMDesal, the NMPWRC surveyed 117 random individuals regarding their awareness of water scarcity issues in New Mexico and what types of use for produced water they would consider acceptable.
The NMPWRC found that from those surveyed, a majority approved of recycling produced water. Sixty-six individuals indicated they would be okay with the use of produced water beyond oil and gas operations, while the other 51 participants supported it as reusable drinking water.
Fifty-seven percent of people were not aware that the Produced Water Act allowed for the New Mexico Environment Department to study the reuse of produced water outside of the oil and gas sectors, according to NMDesal.
The survey found that among the largest concerns of those surveyed as a lack of information about the reuse of waste water. Other concerns included the belief that the oil and gas industry should be required to disclose all chemicals in the water, proprietary or not, before reusing as well as what manmade chemicals the water may contain.
“We needed this ‘baseline’ provided by the NMPWRC to see what work needs to be done in bringing the public onboard with using treated produced, brackish, and other unconventional water sources,” John Deal, CEO of IX Power Clean Water said.
More information about the survey and its results can be found at the NMPWRC website.
Juan Corral can be reached at JCorral@gannett.com or on twitter at @Juan36Corr.
This article originally appeared on Alamogordo Daily News: New Mexico Desalination Association held meeting to discuss the reuse of produced water
