Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19

Joshua F. Valder; Ryan R. McShane; Joanna N. Thamke; Jeremy S. McDowell; Grady P. Ball; Natalie A. Houston; Amy E. Galanter

doi:10.3133/sir20215090

Home/Archive/USGS

USGS · sir20215090

Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19

Joshua F. Valder·Ryan R. McShane·Joanna N. Thamke·Jeremy S. McDowell·Grady P. Ball·Natalie A. Houston·Amy E. Galanter

View original source ↗Read source document ↗Export metadata ↓

Abstract

In 2015, the U.S. Geological Survey started a topical study to quantify water use in areas of continuous oil and gas (COG) development. The first phase of the study was completed in 2019 and analyzed the Williston Basin. The second phase of the study analyzed the Permian Basin using the same techniques and approaches used for the Williston Basin analysis. The Permian Basin was selected for the second phase of water-use analysis for the following reasons: (1) the basin has the largest undiscovered technically recoverable oil and gas resource in the United States, (2) the basin has a continuous resource in tight shale that primarily produces oil, and (3) the basin is within the contiguous United States. This study used data from 60 counties in Texas and New Mexico with spatial coverage based on the Permian Basin extent defined by the U.S. Energy Information Administration, a representation of the geologically defined Permian Basin. Data from several sources were used in the analysis of direct, indirect, and ancillary water use associated with COG development in the Permian Basin and are available in an associated data release. Hydraulic fracturing water-use data were used to determine the start of the recent (before 2019) COG development boom in oil production in the Permian Basin in the same way that the data were used for the Williston Basin study. Water-use data were aggregated by county and year, which were the sampling units used in the analysis. The water-use analysis of the Permian Basin contained three elements: (1) estimates of water use, in million gallons, by county and year; (2) coefficients of water use from regression models, in million gallons per developed oil and gas well; and (3) performance (based on goodness-of-fit metrics) of the regression models in estimating the observed water use. Coefficients from the linear and quantile regression models of direct, indirect, and ancillary water use in the Permian Basin were produced as aggregate values for the counties and years. The mean estimate of direct water use had a 95-percent confidence interval of 4.13–5.45 million gallons (Mgal) per developed oil and gas well. The coefficient from the linear regression model of indirect water use was 0.111 Mgal per well, with a 95-percent confidence interval of 0.104–0.117 Mgal per well. The mean estimate of ancillary water use in the Permian Basin was 1.09 Mgal per well, with a 95-percent confidence interval of 1.05–1.13 Mgal per well. Model performance was evaluated with goodness-of-fit metrics including coefficient of determination ( R 2 ), root mean square error, and the ratio of root mean square error to standard deviation of observations computed from leave-one-out cross validation of the linear and quantile regression models of direct, indirect, and ancillary water use. Model performance for direct water use was acceptable, with an R 2 value of 0.91. The model performance of indirect water use was acceptable, with an R 2 value of 0.89. Values of R 2 for the ancillary water-use categories were at least 0.89. Annual mean estimates for hydraulic fracturing, cementing, drilling, indirect, and ancillary water use per well for the years 2010–17 were comparable between the Permian and Williston Basins. Hydraulic fracturing water use increased similarly from 2010 to 2015 in the Permian Basin and the Williston Basin, increasing from 0.6 Mgal per well in 2010 to 5.4 Mgal per well in 2015 in the Permian Basin and from 1.4 Mgal per well in 2010 to 4.7 Mgal per well in 2015 in the Williston Basin. By design, the Permian water-use assessment is a simplification of a complex and continually developing system and therefore has uncertainty and limitations in the interpretation of results. Despite the modeling limitations, the results summarized in the report, when compared to other studies, compare well with water-use estimations. The favorable comparison highlights the transferability of the water-use methodology to other areas of COG development.

Explore related subjects

Scientific Investigations Report Report

Source-reported bounding extent: 29.305561325527698° to 34.52466147177172° latitude; -105.0732421875° to -98.701171875° longitude. This indicates report coverage, not an exact sampling location. View area on OpenStreetMap.

Keep this discovery

Explore connections, maps & timelines

BibTeX RIS

Joshua F. Valder, Ryan R. McShane, Joanna N. Thamke, Jeremy S. McDowell, Grady P. Ball, Natalie A. Houston, Amy E. Galanter. 2021-08-26. Estimates of water use associated with continuous oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, Texas and New Mexico, 2010–19. https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20215090

Cite the original work for its findings. Save a collection to share your selection of sources.

KEEP EXPLORING

Related USGS reports

USGS2026

Monitoring recreation on federally managed lands and waters—Aspects of visitor use

Federally managed public lands and waters receive around 1 billion recreational visits each year. Data on these visitors can aid in guiding policy decisions, managing resources effectively, and communicating the economic contributions of lands and waters. This report explores the methods used by agencies to collect data on aspects of recreational visitor use to Federal lands and waters (apart from visitation numbers, which are the focus of a companion publication). Aspects of recreational visitor use include visitor demographics, recreational activity participation, visitor satisfaction, visitor attitudes and experiences, trip characteristics, and economic contributions. We review practices used to understand aspects of visitor use across seven Federal agencies, revealing similarities such as the use of visitor intercept surveys and coverage of similar topic areas, and differences in how survey programs are operationalized and how specific questions on visitor surveys are worded. We also evaluate emerging technologies, such as geolocated social media and mobile device location data, for their potential to aid in understanding aspects of visitor use. This report concludes with potential opportunities to enhance data collection and coordination, ensuring cost-effective data collection and informed decision making.

Scientific Investigations Report↗

USGS2026

Evaluation of best management practices at an edge-of-field site in the Eagle Creek watershed, Ohio, 2012–20

In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey worked in partnership with the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative and the Natural Resources Conservation Service to identify farm fields in priority watersheds—watersheds critically important to Great Lake health. Intensive best management practices were implemented in five States to test the efficacy of best management practices, also referred to as agricultural conservation practices, to reduce sediment and nutrient runoff on agricultural fields. These fields were chosen as representatives of the priority watersheds because their farming practices and geographical conditions were common among farms in those watersheds. A farm site located near Findlay, Ohio, in the Eagle Creek watershed used two conservation practices, cover crop (Natural Resources Conservation Service practice standard 340) and variable rate technology (VRT; Natural Resources Conservation Service practice standard 590), which represent common practices in the Maumee priority watershed. This study monitored surface runoff and subsurface tile runoff at the Eagle Creek watershed site. The effects of cover crop and VRT nutrient application on sediment and nutrient runoff were assessed from October 2012 to September 2020. Cover crops were applied in fall of 2016, 2017, and 2018, coinciding with VRT applications. The following parameters were analyzed as part of the study: runoff discharge; peak discharge; and concentrations and loads of total phosphorus, particulate phosphorus, dissolved reactive phosphorus, and suspended sediment. High peak runoff events disproportionally affected nutrient concentrations and loads in runoff. A threshold of the 85th percentile of the peak discharge was chosen to assess the effect of cover crop and VRT nutrient application on nutrient mitigation at each gage. Runoff events below the 85th percentile were considered small, and runoff events over the 85th percentile were considered large. Concentrations from collected water-quality samples were used for the analysis; estimated concentrations were excluded from the statistical evaluation. All surface runoff parameters during small runoff events, except surface runoff volume, were significantly lower in the period with cover crops and VRT implementation. Contrarily, subsurface runoff parameters during small events were not statistically different between the periods with and without cover crops and VRT implementation. Surface and subsurface parameters during large events were also not statistically different between the periods with and without cover crops and VRT implementation. These results indicate cover crops and VRT may improve water quality during small runoff events, but additional best management practices that mitigate large runoff events may lead to greater water-quality improvement given the contribution of large events to overall losses.

Ohio↗

USGS2026

Continuous monitoring and temporal variability of fluorescence of dissolved organic matter in karst groundwater of the Edwards aquifer, south-central Texas, 2019–24

Widespread urbanization on the Edwards aquifer recharge zone in south-central Texas has prompted the development of new approaches and tools for evaluating the current and future status of water quality in the San Antonio and Barton Springs segments of the Edwards aquifer. The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System and the City of Austin, applied continuous monitoring of fluorescence of dissolved organic matter (fDOM) to characterize the sources and transport of dissolved organic matter and associated constituents in the Edwards aquifer. Continuous fDOM time-series data were adjusted using empirically derived temperature, turbidity, and inner-filter-effect correction factors prior to analysis and interpretation. Fully corrected fDOM time-series data from the study sites were evaluated for short- and long-term temporal variability in fDOM in the context of the hydrologic and climatic conditions that occurred during the 5-year study period to understand vulnerability of the aquifer to potential contaminants in recharge. Study results indicate that fDOM is an effective proxy for dissolved organic carbon that, in turn, is indicative of the influx of recent surface water and associated contaminants, and thus, aquifer vulnerability to those contaminants. Although other continuously monitored water-quality parameters provide insights into changes in water quality in response to varying hydrologic conditions, the quantitative relation between fDOM and dissolved organic carbon directly indicates the timing and magnitude of pulses of organic constituents derived from the land surface, whereas other water-quality parameters do not.

Texas↗