SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY and UNIVERSITIES COUNCIL ON WATER RESOURCES PRESENT
Scaling solutions: Beneficially utilizing treated produced water for agriculture with Dr. Jospeh Burke and Dr. Katie Lewis
Date: Tuesday, October 28th, 2025
Time: 12pm – 1pm central time
Location: Microsoft Teams Webinar
This virtual event is free and open to the public. Click here to reserve your spot today.
Dr. Joseph Burke is an Assistant Professor of Cropping Systems Agronomy and Extension Soil and Water Specialist, Texas A&M AgriLife Research and Extension Service, Lubbock, TX. Dr. Katie Lewis is a Professor of Soil Chemistry and Fertility, Texas A&M AgriLife Research, Lubbock, TX.
Texas leads the U.S. in oil and gas exploration through extensive hydraulic fracturing, commonly called “fracking.” The fracking process in the Permian Basin typically uses three to five barrels of water to extract one barrel of oil. This water eventually returns to the surface during extraction and can contain salts, organic and inorganic compounds, chemical additives, naturally occurring radioactive material, and other byproducts that create challenges with utilizing these water resources, dubbed “produced water.” Traditionally, produced water can be reused for additional fracking or deep-injected into non-reactive geological formations. However, increased seismic activity has reduced this deep injection in Texas and the surrounding states. Utilizing treated produced water for agriculture provides an alternative to deep injection that can help ensure Texas meets its future water demands. Texas A&M AgriLife leads two projects to better understand how treated produced water can be used beneficially for agriculture. These projects integrate research and extension to characterize the treated produced water, examine its impact on forage, bioenergy, and row crop production, evaluate changes in soil chemical, physical, and biological properties, quantify economic impacts, and model changes in regional hydrology due to produced water applications.
Come join the conversation!
