Water Use by the Texas Mining Industry: Accounting for the Future

Texas coal production ranks sixth in the nation at 39,016 thousand short tons in 2008, accounting for 31.6% of the state’s electricity generation [EIA.org]. Due to its low sulfur content, abundant supply with reserves of 752 million short tons, and mouth of mine operations, the production of Texas lignite will continue to be a prominent source of electricity generation for the state. With it comes a valuable resource presently unaccounted for, groundwater, as coal mine operations must depressurize the underburden below the lignite seams, up to 19,000 gpm. There is currently a gap in data collection methods and the monitoring of consumptive use of groundwater. A small portion is consumed for dust suppression, coal washing, and drilling; however, the remainder is stored in retention ponds for up to ten days and then released into local surface waters. Monitoring the quality and quantity of this resource, accurately reporting it to key planners in the state, such as the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) and Groundwater Conservation Districts (GCDs), and projecting this use forward based on estimated production, is key in order to properly model available resources for the next fifty years using groundwater availability models (GAMs).