NGWA Event and Education Recordings Archive

Recent estimates predict over 20,000 wells will be drilled for hydraulic fracturing in the Eagle Ford Shale over the next 15 years, accounting for approximately 5-7% of the total water use within the main 16-county area, and as high as 89% in one rural county. Since each well requires about 3-7 million gallons of water, there is significant concern about fresh water consumption in drought-stricken South Texas. Hence, development of the Eagle Ford Shale will require water management strategies that maximize use of non-potable water.  The main objective of this study is to evaluate the feasibility of using reject concentrate streams from brackish groundwater desalination plants located within the Eagle Ford Shale region as hydraulic fracturing fluid.  This could potentially reduce freshwater consumption by the oil and gas industry while at the same time providing a low-cost concentrate disposal option for municipalities using brackish groundwater desalination as a water supply.  To achieve the main objective, the proposed research will perform time-series water quality analyses of: (1) the concentrate stream from an existing desalination plant located within the Eagle Ford Shale region, and (2) flowback water from at least one nearby hydraulic fracturing well.  Subsequently, geochemical modeling analyses will be performed to assess the down-hole scaling potential associated with: (i) the desalination concentrate alone, (ii) the frac flowback water alone, and (iii) blended desalination concentrate and frac flowback water.