Permian produced water discharge and North Dakota brine spills
Oilfield wastewater, known as produced water, has grown about 30-fold in the Permian Basin since 2010, and most of it is injected underground. In North Dakota, brine spills have recurred every year, and the land they damaged has never been calculated.
About 30 times the 2010 volume; about 85% injected into more than 2,000 wells (AAPG Bulletin, 2024).
Status As of the latest source reviewed (New Mexico figures for 2025): produced water volumes in the Permian and New Mexico were large and mostly injected; no ruling or enforcement outcome found.
What happened
Produced water is the salty water that comes up with oil and gas. A 2023 university publication put worldwide output at about 280 million barrels a day, against oil production of 97 million barrels a day.
In the Permian Basin, produced water rose about 30-fold from 2010 to about 5 billion barrels in 2022, according to a 2024 article in the AAPG Bulletin. About 85% of it was injected into more than 2,000 wells.
In New Mexico, 2.74 billion barrels of produced water were generated in 2025, and about 40% was reused, according to the New Mexico State University Produced Water Research Consortium.
In April 2024 the Texas Tribune reported that companies were seeking to release more treated oilfield wastewater into Texas rivers and streams, including the Pecos River, and that federal regulation of such discharges was limited.
In North Dakota, NBC News reported in 2018 that brine spills numbered 138 in 2014 and about 80 a year afterwards, and that the land damaged by them had never been calculated.
- 2010Start of the Permian produced water increase later measured at about 30-fold
- 2014North Dakota records 138 brine spills
- 2018NBC News reports about 80 brine spills a year; land damage never calculated
- 2022Permian produced water about 5 billion barrels, about 85% injected
- 2024Texas Tribune reports companies seeking permits to discharge treated produced water to the Pecos River
- 2025New Mexico produced water 2.74 billion barrels; about 40% reused
How it looked
Shown
- Produced water described as available for "beneficial reuse" (the label used by the Texas environmental regulator, TCEQ)Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
Recorded
- Permian produced water about 5 billion barrels in 2022, about 30 times the 2010 volume; about 85% injected into more than 2,000 wells
- New Mexico produced water 2.74 billion barrels in 2025, about 40% reused
- North Dakota brine spills: 138 in 2014, then about 80 a year; damaged land never calculated
- Companies sought to release treated produced water into the Pecos River; federal regulation of this was limited
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Record
- None on record The area of North Dakota land damaged by brine spills has never been calculated (NBC News, 2018).
- None on record Federal regulation of discharges of treated produced water to rivers was described as limited (Texas Tribune, April 2024).
Did the harm stop?
The sources reviewed do not say whether the spills or the growth in produced water have stopped; the latest figures cited are for 2022 and 2025.
Who paid?
The sources reviewed do not record who paid for land damaged by North Dakota brine spills; the 2018 report said the damaged land had never been calculated.
Sources
Press and investigations
- Companies aim to release more treated oilfield wastewater into rivers and streamsTexas Tribune · 2024-04-29
Researchers
- Produced water treatment and reuse options: alternatives for sustainable.UAE University · 2023
- AAPG Bulletin article on Permian produced water (Datapages)AAPG Bulletin · 2024-08
- Produced Water Volumes and Management in New Mexico By the NumbersNMSU Produced Water Research Consortium · 2025