By Ed Sealover | The Sum & Substance
To reduce the amount of fresh water used in oil-and-gas drilling, operators must ensure a certain percentage of water they are using in extraction is reused or recycled under a plan set to be released in the next week by a legislatively created advisory group.
The strategy from the Colorado Produced Water Consortium — a group of 31 energy, environmental and water experts that has been meeting for more than a year — will mark the first time Colorado has attempted to curb use of fresh water in the industry. Consortium members are required to produce a report with recommendations by Nov. 1, and the Colorado Energy and Carbon Management Commission is scheduled to hold a hearing in December to put new rules into place.
Oil-and-gas companies use less than 1% of the state’s consumed water, as compared to the 85% that is used by the agricultural sector. But unlike agriculture, most of what is used by oil and gas is not recycled but rather put into disposal wells, a fact that has become a particular concern to environmentalists during a time of drought.