Oil And Gas Spills 180 Million Gallons Of Wastewater

Wastewater spills at energy operations in the U.S. are on the rise, possibly reaching more than 180 million gallons over five years.

Such wastewater spills are an “overlooked side effect” of the drilling boom, according to the Associated Press, which crunched the numbers in a recent analysis of spills between 2009 and 2014.

The analysis focused on data from top oil- and gas-producing states. “[It] found more than 180 million gallons of wastewater spilled from 2009 to 2014 in incidents involving ruptured pipes, overflowing storage tanks and other mishaps or even deliberate dumping. There were some 21,651 individual spills. And these numbers are incomplete because many releases go unreported,” the report said.

“The highest number of incidents and greatest volume of wastewater spilled occurred in Texas, which is the leading gas and oil producer in the United States. There were 4,783 incidents and 62 million gallons spilled in that state,” AllGov reported, citing AP’s research.

Oil spills attract more attention, but wastewater spills in many states surpass the volume of oil spills.

“Spilled oil, however unsightly, over time is absorbed by minerals in the soil or degraded by microbes. Not so with the wastewater — also known as brine, produced water or saltwater. Unless thoroughly cleansed, a costly and time-consuming process, salt-saturated land dries up. Trees die. Crops cannot take root,” the report said.

The findings provide insight into a major threat to the water supply. The Associated Press reported:

In addition to the extreme salinity, the fluids often contain heavy metals such as arsenic and mercury, plus radioactivity. Even smaller discharges affecting an acre or two gradually add up for landowners — "death by a thousand bee stings," said Don Shriber of Farmington, New Mexico, a cattleman who wrangled with an oil company over damage.

Hydrogen Fuel News reported: “Although the AP’s analysis discovered that wastewater spill totals jumped higher each year with the increase of oil and gas operations, the extent of water or land contamination resulting from wastewater spills from oil and gas drilling, within the U.S., is unknown.”

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http://www.wateronline.com/doc/oil-and-gas-spills-million-gallons-of-wastewater-0001