Produced Water - Waste Re-use and Disposal

Waste Re-use and Disposal

Historically, produced water was disposed of in large evaporation ponds. However, this has become an increasingly unacceptable disposal method from both environmental and social perspectives. Produced water is considered an industrial waste and coal seam gas (CSG) producers are now required to employ beneficial re-uses for produced water.

The broad management options for re-use are direct injection, environmentally acceptable direct-use of “untreated” water, or “treatment” to a government-issued standard before disposal or supply to users. In the United States these standards are issued by defined by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for underground injection and discharges to surface waters.