New Pennsylvania wastewater treatment requirements have prompted Fountain Quail Water Management to add a third evaporator unit at its shared facility in Williamsport, PA, the company said.

The subsidiary of Calgary-based Aqua-Pure Ventures Inc. is working with Eureka Resources to recycle flowback and produced water from Marcellus Shale gas wells.

The new unit has joined two others that have been recycling up to 200,000 gallons of wastewater daily since mid-June, expanding capacity by 50%. The facility now serves several operators, including Range Resources Inc., ExxonMobil Corp. subsidiary XTO Energy Corp. and Chesapeake Energy Corp.

On June 17 the Pennsylvania Independent Regulatory Review Commission enacted regulations mandating a maximum of 500 parts per million (ppm) total dissolved solids (TDS) and 250 ppm chlorides in “end-of-pipe” discharges (see Daily GPI, Aug. 26). Fountain Quail said it is recovering an average of 75-80% of pure distilled water from the Marcellus Shale wastewater it receives, with TDS measuring less than 150 ppm and only trace chlorides.

Due to the recent slowdown in drilling activity in the Barnett Shale of Texas, Fountain Quail has been able to redeploy some of its evaporator equipment to other areas, including Pennsylvania and, soon, to the Fayetteville Shale in Arkansas. The company said it is building new units in anticipation of continued demand in shale plays across North America.

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