Produced Water Beneficial Re-Use – High TDS Waters

2007, Fossil Water

The study emphasizes the use of existing information sources and the experience of the study team in the evaluation and implementation of alternative approaches to water use. This report focuses on high-TDS produced water with TDS >4,000 mg/l. A companion document (dated 25 June 2007) focused on Low-TDS waters.

Overall, total produced water disposal injection volumes are relatively constant at 265 million m3 per year – approximately 720,000 m3/day. The highest disposal volumes are clustered near 18 locations encompassing >80% of the total volumes injected in Alberta. In particular, the largest injection volume clusters are located near Redwater/Fort Saskatchewan, Provost/Hayter, Taber/Grand Forks and Bellshill Lake (Alliance).

Limited information on produced water quality is available from published and/or industry sources – the results of baseline water quality testing in accordance with EUB Directive 44 are not yet available. Available data highlights that high-TDS produced waters exceed quality objectives for benefical re-use without utilizing a variety of treatment technologies. In addition to salinity constraints, trace amounts of phenols and/or organics also require treatment prior to acceptance for beneficial use.

High-TDS water utilization is problematic in that analytical protocols generally do not cover trace organics and elements that affect beneficial uses including irrigation, livestock consumption and/or surface water releases. As such, it is difficult to draw conclusions regarding the application of high-TDS waters to non-industrial uses.

Final Report

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