Management and Effects of Coalbed Methane Produced Water in the Western United States (2010) / Chapter Skim
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4 Coalbed Methane Produced Water Management and Beneficial Uses
4 Coalbed Methane Produced Water Management and Beneficial Uses
Pages 91-112
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From page 91... ...
OPTIONS FOR CBM PRODUCED WATER MANAGEMENT CBM produced water management includes (1) disposal, storage, or treatment as a waste product of methane recovery or (2)
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From page 92... ...
Two broadly contrasting approaches to produced water management are highlighted in this chapter: (1) the Powder River Basin, where substantial water volumes and relatively low salinity have yielded a variety of options for eventual use of treated or untreated CBM produced water, and (2)
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From page 93... ...
evaporation ponds data through 2006 NOTE: North Dakota is not listed in this table because the state does not currently have any CBM production. All permitted discharges to ephemeral and perennial drainages in the Montana portion of the Powder River Basin are located in the Tongue River drainage.
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From page 94... ...
Although the CBM produced water in the Powder River Basin generally has the lowest total dissolved solids (TDS) concentrations of all the produced water from the western CBM basins, only 13 percent is put to beneficial use, primarily as managed surface irrigation or subsurface drip irrigation.
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From page 95... ...
NOTE: Chart for Montana correct until May 2010 when the Montana Supreme Court ruled that all CBM produced water must be treated before discharge to Montana streams and rivers. TDS of the produced water and the relatively low water volume per unit of gas production (Table 2.1; Table 2.2)
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From page 96... ...
Shallow alluvial aquifer infiltration Land-applied disposal through May require pH adjustment; salinity and Rangeland habitat improvement, forage production, water spreading SAR reductions; soil amendments to facilitate shallow alluvial aquifer recharge infiltration Beneficial Use Options Surface irrigation Varies from none to pH adjustment, salinity and Rangeland habitat restoration, streamflow SAR reductions; soil amendments to facilitate augmentation, reduced potential for stream infiltration; ongoing soil quality monitoring dewatering, facilitation of disturbed-lands reclamation (drill sites, coal mining sites, travel corridor reclamation) Subsurface drip irrigation Varies from none to degassing, particulate Shallow alluvial aquifer recharge, salt leaching, filtration, pH adjustment, salinity and SAR increased crop or forage production reductions, chlorination for bacterial control; soil amendments to facilitate hydraulic conductivity
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From page 97... ...
Livestock watering Dependent on water chemistry, intended Wildlife watering, enhanced forage production, duration of impoundment, opportunity for enhanced rangeland forage utilization as a result of mixing or blending with supplemental water livestock dispersion and reduced travel distances to sources. In some circumstances, elective or water discretionary treatment of water may be voluntarily imposed to lower salinity, reduce concentration of elements known to be toxic or detrimental to livestock health, particularly trace metals Instream flow; habitat Dictated by NPDES permit requirements; may Habitat maintenance, restoration, wildlife-waterfowl enhancement: treatment and require salinity, sodicity, fluoride, barium fishery habitat, flow augmentation to benefit discharge to streams/wetlands reductions downstream water users Municipal/domestic use, aquifer Dependent on water chemistry and desired Aquifer storage: future municipal and/or domestic storage use, but may require treatment to drinking water supply; metal contaminants may adsorb to water standards; chlorination, particle removal aquifer and lower dissolved concentrations; less filtration evaporative loss than surface reservoir storage Industrial use Varies from no treatment required to reduction Reduced demand for withdrawals from existing water of TDS, bicarbonate, and/or other constituents, supplies and temperature and pH adjustment NOTE: NPDES, National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System; SAR, sodium adsorption ratio; TDS, total dissolved solids.
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From page 98... ...
Although Table 4.2 identifies possible ancillary beneficial uses associated with discharge of CBM produced water to ephemeral or perennial streams, the committee did not find significant evidence or documentation substantiating intentional streamflow augmentation, habitat restoration, or quantified aquifer recharge using CBM produced water. A substantial majority of the produced water of the Raton Basin in Colorado is currently directly discharged into ephemeral and perennial streams.
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From page 99... ...
During the first few years of CBM development in the Wyoming portion of the Powder River Basin, operators were permitted either to construct dams in ephemeral channels or modify existing on-channel dams and impoundments for temporary storage of CBM produced water. Recognizing the potential interference of these on-channel impoundments with priority water rights of downstream water rights holders, permitting of impoundments by the State Engineer's Office may require a bypass around an impoundment to address downstream water rights.
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From page 100... ...
Livestock and wildlife watering are described in the next section under "Beneficial Use Options." The committee was unable to find documented evidence of measured alluvial aquifer recharge consequent to introduction of CBM produced water to impoundments. land-aPPlied disPosal through water sPreading and managed irrigation During early stages of development of the CBM industry in the Powder River Basin, a technique referred to as "land-applied disposal" was adopted by several of the principal gas and water producers.
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From page 101... ...
Under most circumstances, the addition of water is presumed to result in enhanced landscape quality, whether as a result of increased forage production for livestock and wildlife grazing and habitat, sustained instream flows during dry periods, or sustainability of diverse communities of native plant species. At present, however, little evidence or concerted effort exists to document that CBM produced water has been put to beneficial use for rangeland, wildlife, or stream augmentation.
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From page 102... ...
Concerns have thus been raised regarding widescale potential beneficial use of CBM produced water for irrigation of agricultural crops. Currently, more than 8,000 acres of agricultural cropland, primarily grass and alfalfa, are being irrigated by sprinkler irrigation with CBM produced water in the Powder River Basin.
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From page 103... ...
. Numerous CBM projects in the Powder River Basin have created off-channel impoundments or watering stations to provide untreated CBM produced water as a water 0
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From page 104... ...
Discharge of CBM waters to wetlands may also enhance these environments and provide ancillary benefits to waterfowl and wildlife if the water quality meets surface water and aquatic life standards. At present, the only areas where this type of CBM produced water benefit might be realized to any degree are the Powder River Basin and the Colorado portion of the Raton Basin.
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From page 105... ...
In the case of industrial uses and ancillary uses or benefits of CBM produced water, the use of the water is totally elective and any treatment that is imposed is for the purpose of facilitating the use or functionality of the water, but would not be a regulatory requirement. NOTE: The table information indicates opportunities for major industry uses but is not a comprehensive presentation of all possible industrial uses for CBM produced water.
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From page 106... ...
Other produced water may be of suitable quality for establishing and maintaining wetlands. With current technologies, CBM produced water can be treated to attain the quality necessary to support any beneficial use, but at variable costs.
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From page 107... ...
Today, western cities look to enhance their water supplies, sometimes at significant cost. The societal and economic costs that may be incurred by not considering CBM water for beneficial use in an arid part of the United States are not usually discussed with regard to CBM produced water management.
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From page 108... ...
For instance, in the case of discharging CBM produced water for wildlife habitat enhancement, research has shown that the chemistry of impounded water changes over time and, consequently, that such water may become deleterious to wildlife health over time. In the case of discharge to a stream to supplement downstream irrigation, existing stream channels reflect a geomorphological evolution, which may be substantially altered by flow augmentation.
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From page 109... ...
30 0,00 0,000 Dollar Value of CBM Water 200,000 250,0 0 0,000 Acre Feet per Year 200,00 0,000 150,000 150,0 0 0,000 10 0,000 10 0,00 0,000 50,0 00 50,0 0 0,000 0 0 1985 1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 Year of Production FIGURE The blue curve shows to the total acre-feet of CBM produced water from the Wyoming portion of the box 4.2 figure.eps Powder River Basin from the mid-1980s through 2009 (corresponding to the vertical scale on the right-hand side; see Chapter 2)
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From page 110... ...
With the exception of livestock watering, essentially all other beneficial uses of this water are ancillary or consequential to disposal through discharge -- e.g., streamflow augmentation, wildlife and aquatic habitat enhancement, aquifer recharge, and wildlife watering. Nearly 85 percent of all CBM produced water in the Powder River Basin (Wyoming and Montana combined)
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From page 111... ...
The potential economic, ecological, and environment value or benefits of CBM produced water, either in its present state or following necessary treatment, have not been fully evaluated. Intentionally simplistic calculations of the potential economic value of CBM produced water from the Powder River Basin, based on the past 15 years of reported water production, suggest commercial significance of this produced water for municipal purposes.
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From page 112... ...
2009. Regulations and Impediments for Treatment and Beneficial Use of CBM Produced Water.
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