A Geospatial Feasibility Assessment of Utilizing Produced Water from Oil and Natural Gas Production in California for Beneficial Use

The current California drought has impacted freshwater availability for agricultural, industrial, commercial, and residential uses across the state. Due to the confluence of declining surface water deliveries, depleted streamflows and over-exploited groundwater wells, thousands of households across the state have reported water outages, and many now rely primarily on bottled water as a source of drinking water. At the same time, California is a large oil and natural gas producing state and generates large amounts of produced water from fuel extraction each year. In 2014, over 518 billion L of water were produced due tofossil fuel production in the state, yet the majority of this water was disposed of through Class II injection wells. There is growing interest in identifying alternative water sources, but to date, there have been limited attempts to assess the feasibility of using produced water in California for beneficial purposes in the residential and commercial sectors.This study addresses this gap and provides a geospatial assessment of the quantity and quality of produced water from California’s oil and gas activities in relation to water-stressed regions. A freshwater shortage risk metric isdeveloped, and the feasibility of water transfers are analyzed using produced water data. The outcomes of this study conclude that approximately 1.2 million people reside in high-risk areas that are within 24.14 km (15 mi) of a producing well with water that is clean enough to treat.