Assessments of Environmental Impacts and Beneficial Use of Coalbed Methane Produced Water in the Powder River Basin

Abstract

Impact on water quality and the beneficial use of the coal bed methane (CBM) produced water are imminent questions to be answered due to the rapidly growing CBM exploration in the Powder River Basin (PRB). The practice of discharging large volumes of water into drainage channels or using it to irrigate rangeland areas has the potential of causing serious problems. The elevated salinity and sodicity in the CBM water may be detrimental to soils, plants and the associated microbial communities. There are limited studies on CBM water characterization; however, a comprehensive understanding of CBM water influence on the local ecosystem is lacking. It is very important that the water applied to soils meets the favorable combination of salinity and sodicity that will allow the plants to grow at good production levels and that will maintain the structure of the soils. The purpose of this study was to access various CBM water treatment technologies and the influence of the treated water on local biogeochemical settings in order to evaluate and identify the proper technologies to treat the CBM produced water from CBM operations, and use it in an environmentally safe manner. Unfortunately, a suitable field site was not identified and themore » funds for this effort were moved to a different project.« less