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County to try oil field brine for road dust control

Ward County is gearing up to use produced water from the oil field to help provide dust control on some gravel roads.

The Ward County Commission Tuesday approved a request from Highway Engineer Dana Larsen to purchase a fiberglass storage tank and distribution equipment.

Larsen said the county likely won’t begin using produced water until next year but hopes to get the facilities in place this year. Produced water is brine water trapped in underground formations that is brought to the surface during oil and gas production.

Some other counties already have used produced water – containing magnesium, calcium and sodium chlorides – on their roads with successful results, Larsen said. Magnesium and calcium chlorides are commonly used in dust control.

Ward County is looking at obtaining produced water from a well in Renville County that is in an older formation than the Bakken. Other counties have used water from that formation, and testing by the State Health Department show the water from the well to be used by Ward County is suitable and safe when used appropriately.

Larsen said Ward County already does some dust control with water and, less commonly, with a magnesium and calcium product. Most often, dust control is used on haul roads, particularly on roads where the county is hauling its gravel.

Rather than continually watering the roads to control dust from the large trucks, Larsen said, the county could apply the produced water for longer lasting results. Initially, he expects the use of the produced water to be limited.

“We want to see how efficient they can become in putting it down, so there’s going to be a little test run to make sure we get it right,” Larsen said.

He doesn’t anticipate widespread use because of the time and labor that would be involved. Dust control might become more widely used if there is public demand, he said. However, there could be some public opposition as well.

Ward County Commissioner Alan Walter, who voted against acquiring equipment for using produced water, said he already is hearing from people concerned about the application of corrosive chemicals on the roads.

Chlorides are corrosive, as people have experienced in driving their vehicles on winter roads salted to remove ice. Although the degree of corrosiveness when applied to gravel roads is less, it is not without some concern in the industry. The greater concern is to equipment handling the the chemicals more so than to vehicles because the chemicals do sink into the soil.

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