Mace and Jones reported in late June 2023 that until the end of the oil and gas boom in 2014, much of the sand used in the Permian Basin for hydraulic fracturing was sourced from upper Midwest of the United States. Because of substantial cost savings, producers in the Permian Basin began using local sand resources in 2015, creating an associated boom in local frac-sand mining in the Monahans-Mescalero Shinnery Sands.
By December 2018, 17 frac-sand operations had registered with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality with a cumulative annual capacity of 56.8 million tons and a self-reported 2,927 acres of disturbed land. The authors identified 230 production wells for the 16 facilities with depths ranging from 80 to 1,199 feet. Most were completed in the Pecos Valley Alluvium and/or Dockum aquifers. Estimated frac-sand facility water use (10,000–40,000 acre-feet per year, based on 60–250 gallons of water consumed per ton of produced sand) rivals or exceeds that of water used in the four counties (Crane, Ector, Ward, and Winkler counties) with active frac-sand facilities (23,500 acre-feet per year).
Modeling suggests that long-term pumping of the unconfined Pecos Valley Aquifer may be a challenge requiring additional wells over time or the use of alternative water supplies. For the confined Dockum Aquifer, simulations suggest that pumping might completely deplete artesian pressure at the well field after 10 years.
We recommend following ongoing activity in the area by all pumpers and, if possible, expanding water-level monitoring to gain a better understanding of how additional pumping is affecting the aquifers. This study suffered from a lack of site-specific information on water use and produced sand tonnage in the public domain. If the State of Texas wishes to have a better understanding of potential effects of pumping at these facilities, then requiring the reporting of this information is critical.
Finally, well completions across different aquifers should be discouraged. Even when pumping at these wells stop, aquifers with higher water-level elevations — such as the Pecos Valley Aquifer — will continue to drain into deeper, depleted formations, thus affecting the water resources for remaining
users as long as the well connection exists.
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