Is it safe? Plans to reuse fracking water amid growing water shortage move forward
MIDLAND, Texas (KMID/KPEJ)- Amid the growing water shortage in West Texas, the Texas Legislature has given oil and gas companies the opportunity to reuse wastewater created during the oil fracking process.
State Rep. Drew Darby's House Bill 49 is now on the way Gov. Greg Abbott's desk for a final signature.
Research & Development Manager at Texas Pacific Water Resources, Adrianne Lopez, guarantees Texans the water is safe for reuse.
'The contaminants things that are like that are biological or heavy metals, those have all been removed,' she said. 'The things that would make a water be considered dangerous have been removed.'
Her team has worked for years on several studies to ensure the water can be used for irrigation and building projects. Her team follows a six-step process, and other partners such as New Mexico University and Texas Tech University have also tested the water's safety.
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USA Today
3 hours ago
- USA Today
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Engadget
3 hours ago
- Engadget
Texas will require permits for self-driving cars starting in September
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Forbes
5 hours ago
- Forbes
Gov. Greg Abbott Signs SB 6 To Improve Texas Grid Reliability
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Such generation will consist mainly of natural gas plants in the near term, with aspirations for more nuclear generation in the longer term. SB 6 also gives ERCOT enhanced tools for large load forecasting, enabling both ERCOT and the PUC to review large load projects which involve taking existing generation off the grid. It establishes a process for curtailing large loads before residential and small business customers during emergency situations, a key step that would require backups for large load customers and thus let ERCOT curtail the load during emergencies without centers powering down. The legislature also tossed in a provision which lets water and sewer corporations generate power in hopes of enhancing rural resilience. 'Texas is open for business, but we won't let unchecked growth crash our grid,' Lt. Gov. Patrick declared when he unveiled his 40 priority bills for the 2025 session in March, with SB 6 near the top. 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But, as I've detailed here in prior pieces, a consensus has formed among the big datacenter developers that renewables alone can't handle the 24/7 demands of data centers, and SB 6's critics consistently ignore that wind and solar lean on gas peaking plants when lack of wind, bad weather and the setting sun render them dormant. The bill's supporters argue that SB 6 is less about ideology and more about fairness, centered on the principle that residential customers shouldn't subsidize grid upgrades for tech giants. As Schwertner put it during Senate debates, 'This bill ensures those who strain the system invest in its stability.' All in all, SB 6 represents a straightforward move by Texas policymakers to ensure that ERCOT and the PUC have the appropriate tools to incorporate large loads onto the grid and ensure minimal risk from a cost and reliability standpoint while maintaining the state's ability to lead the country in the kinds of large industrial power users. It is a pro-market, pro-development, proactive approach to high-grading the Texas grid, a welcome change from the reactive, disaster-driven processes of the past.