CHEYENNE, Wyo., April 10, 2019 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ -- The 'Just Add Water' Initiative plans to bring water to the western arid states to further agriculture, conservation, industry reform, and environmentalism.
Led by the Beneficial-Use Water Alliance, the Initiative has brought together University of Wyoming's Center of Excellence for Produced Water Management, the Wyoming Stock Growers Association, and agricultural company, Encore Green Environmental.
The 'Just Add Water' Initiative brings a new source of water to the western arid states by way of using cleaned oilfield by-product water for these dry lands. This one lynchpin action results in multiple benefits.
"Everything we think about when it comes to our arid lands turns on the reality of a scarcity of water. But if we repurpose the industrial by-product water, we can introduce hundreds of millions of gallons a year onto the land," says Marvin Nash, General Manager of Encore Green Environmental. "This changes the dynamic of soil, conservation, carbon sequestration, agriculture, and our aquifers. That's why it's called 'Just Add Water' because water changes everything."
"The point of opportunity is the intersection of where oilfields meet arid acres," says Jeff Holder, Executive Director of the Beneficial-Use Water Alliance. "Oil wells are generating from three to six times the amount of by-product water as they do crude oil. Right now, we typically inject that water back in the ground, effectively throwing it away. With today's technology and Encore Green Environmental's Conservation By-Design™ methodology, the by-product water is then repurposed and put to good use."
Conservation By-Design™ is a patent-pending methodology to batch, clean, and then apply this water to the arid land, increasing conservation and agriculture growth, while at the same time assuring traceability, economic viability, public transparency, and taking on the liability for the water. Rigorous testing ensures the quality of the water matches the soil for optimal growth.
Director of Agronomy for Encore Green Environmental, Neal Fehringer, Certified Professional Agronomist, explains, "Additional water on the land produces numerous benefits. The health of the usually moisture-starved soil increases as well as vegetation production from a more consistent supply of water. In turn, soil microbial activity and organic matter increase resulting in improved nutrient cycling and availability as well as water infiltration. A heathy soil is capable of growing more vegetation. Increased grass or other growth reduces erosion by providing more soil surface cover. Soil is a valued resource and, in the West, we don't currently have enough water to improve soil health."
In addition to soil health and increased growth of vegetation for agriculture and conservation, a major benefit of "Just Add Water" is the increase of carbon sequestration.
"Carbon sequestration is the natural process where, using photosynthesis, the vegetation is able to draw carbon out of the air and store it in the roots and surrounding soil. Environmentalists see carbon sequestration as a way to mitigate climate change. By adding water to the soil and growing vegetation, carbon is removed from the air. The more vegetation produced, the more carbon that is removed from the air," says Darlene Nash, Owner of Encore Green Environmental.
"In addition to the conservation and environmental goals, this initiative gives landowners previously unavailable water that is vital to them for enhancing their grazing or crop lands and meeting other agricultural needs. As ranchers, we tend not to think about what we could do with extra water because until this initiative, there wasn't a readily available new source of water," said Jim Magagna, Executive Vice-President, Wyoming Stock Growers Association.
"The CEPWM has long focused on developing novel technologies and management strategies for produced waters so that the full value of our invaluable water resources is realized in Wyoming and elsewhere. This 'Just Add Water' initiative is not only economically sustainable, but environmentally, as well," says Dr. Jonathan Brant, director of the Center of Excellence in Produced Water Management at the University of Wyoming."
A side benefit of this Initiative is that diverse stakeholders in the energy, environmental, and agriculture communities can come together and agree on something – that a new source of good water will bring about long-lasting benefits.
The 'Just Add Water' Initiative invites you to join in so that we can have water not only today, but tomorrow as well.
To find out more about the 'Just Add Water' Initiative visit: BeneficialUseWaterAlliance.com/justaddwater.
SOURCE Encore Green Environmental
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