Public perception of oilfield produced water: The case of California's Central Valley

Abstract

Oilfield Produced Water (OPW) has been identified as a viable solution to mitigate water scarcity in California‘s Central Valley. However, consumer perception on the use of OPW outside of the oil and gas industry remains unknown and poses a hurdle for large-scale adoption. This paper, based on 134 randomly selected residents of Kern County (California‘s largest oil-producing county and top agricultural region), examined attitudes towards OPW reuse. In the survey, more than half (52.3%) of participants said that they have heard about oilfield-produced water and other reclaimed waters. Findings also suggest that participants mostly preferred rain and stormwater, and interestingly scored OPW higher than industrial and black waters for irrigation purposes. Around 67% of the participants supported the use of oilfield-produced water for irrigating crops. Younger people (18–29 years) expressed greater concern about using OPW compared to the older residents. Given the drought conditions in Central Valley, policymakers might need to focus on a circular economy and mandate the use of OPW in Central Valley considering that this region‘s economy lies at the nexus of the O&G and agriculture industries.