[IMG] ONE of the major concerns about coal seam gas (CSG)...

  
ONE of the major concerns about coal seam gas (CSG) extraction is what to do with the water produced in the process, as well as more general concerns about the industry's impacts on groundwater. But what if the water produced by CSG extraction could be recycled and returned to the ground?
My new research, carried out as part of CSIRO's Gas Industry Social and Environmental Research Alliance, shows that it is possible to re-inject this CSG-produced water into aquifers, and that water quality issues should be insignificant as along as the situation is carefully monitored  However, given the proposed injection wells are spread over a large area and the uncertainty of mobilising contaminants already present in the formation, it will be essential to monitor continually the groundwater quality, to detect and contain any undesirable changes........... i like it. This article was co-written with Catherine Moore, Senior Groundwater Modeller, GNS Science, New Zealand