By Tom Lacock

August 25, 2010 -- A unique water reclamation facility, touting itself as more environmentally friendly than past processes, will open Oct. 6 between Riverton and Wamsutter.

The Red Desert Water Reclamation Project, once it is up and running, will be able to accept and make 20,000 barrels of water reusable per day.

“Water resources are precious, particularly in Wyoming,” said Richard M. Cyr, senior vice president of Cate Street Capital, which owns the Red Desert project. “This facility will enable the reuse of approximately 270 million gallons of water from oil and gas drilling operations on an annual basis.”

Currently, most of the water used in oil and gas production is either left in evaporation ponds or injected into well sites. In the evaporation ponds, waste like rocks and oil is cleaned only after the used water evaporates. Injecting production water back into well sites also is controversial, as it can raise concerns over contamination of the aquifer.

Cyr said that thanks to the $8 million facility, water now can be cleaned and returned to uses in energy production, landscaping and, perhaps down the line, will be clean enough to drink.

The Red Desert reclamation facility claims the secret to its success is a proprietary process called PetroCleanse. Officials say it effectively cleans water from oil and gas wells for re-use cheaply and effectively, recovering 90 percent of the water it receives.

According to the Red Desert project’s website, water from exploration and production wells is brought by truck to the Red Desert facility where it goes through a process that separates oil, water and rocks.

The raw water then goes through an electro-coagulation system, which separates oils and metals from the water. After a reverse osmosis process removes residual organics, the water is dumped into three holding ponds.

Verified clean water will be land-applied on  the facility property or be sold to exploration and production companies. Non-conforming treated water will be retreated or put into evaporative ponds and final reject water will be put into evaporative ponds.

Cyr said the facility is owned by Cate Street Capital of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He said their intention is to invest and bring to commercialization green technology and environmentally-sustainable projects.

The Red Desert reclamation project created about 50 jobs during its construction.  The facility will employ six full-time workers once construction is completed.

Wyoming Business Council Southwest Regional Director Pat Robbins said the facility will be three miles off the interstate and will have minimal impact on Wyoming’s citizens.

“The big thing this will do is allow industry a more environmentally-friendly process for disposing of their water and re-using it as well,” she said.

http://www.wyomingbusinessreport.com/article.asp?id=53240