Conservation Efforts Try to Reuse Water from Oil Fields

The Oil Industry drills billions of gallons of oil for us to use as fuel. What most people don’t know is that billions of gallons of water also come out of the ground during oil drilling. The problem is that this water is not pure enough for drinking or irrigation so it has been pumped back into the ground by way of disposal wells. With the severe California drought plaguing the state, a new opportunity has arisen to reuse water once rendered useless, into a substance usable for irrigation.
Recently, environmentalists challenged and brought a lawsuit against major oil drilling companies for pumping water into disposal wells that are located too close to drinking water pipes. The wastewater was at risk of contaminating the state’s supply of fresh drinking water. The suit concluded with the closure of 2,500 of 50,000 disposal wells. This had a significant impact on the oil industry and something needed to be done to dispose of all of the water they were pumping.
A company called OriginClear, Inc. uses electric pulses to purify wastewater in Los Angeles, CA, and their services were just what the oil industry needed. The drought has caused all Californians to place conservation at the forefront of their water use, whether personally or mandated by the state. With the ability to take the wastewater from oil drilling and turn it into water pure enough to use for irrigation, oil companies not only have a new source of revenue when they sell this water to farmers, but this water does not go to waste in times when water is precious.
To reuse water, industrial pumps, like those offered by Cortech, are needed to pump all of the water out of the drilling stations and into purification facilities. Our wide range of pumps available will be crucial to the efficient pumping of wastewater to plants where it can be turned into water for irrigation. This is just one small way Cortech is aiding the drought relief efforts in California, and we will continue to support efforts in any way we can.