Water Availability for Oil Well Development in North Dakota

Status of Water Depot Permit Applications

Robert Shaver

Water Appropriation Division

North Dakota State Water Commission

Scope of Presentation• Surface Water Availability

• Ground Water Availability– Bedrock Aquifer

• Fox Hills Aquifer

– Glacial Aquifers• Killdeer Aquifer• Shell Creek Aquifer

Surface Water Availability

Knife River

Bakken Areal Extent

Knife River at Manning, ND

Surface Water Availability

Bakken Areal Extent

Missouri River/Lake Sakakawea most reliable water supply

Ground Water AvailabilityBedrock Aquifers

FOX HILLS AQUIFER

Areal Extent of Fox Hills Aquifer

Fox Hills Aquifer

• Fox Hills Aquifer occurs from land surface to depths of ≈ 2,000 feet in west central part of state

• Well yields of up to 200 gpm

• Variable water chemistry– Relatively high salinity– Sodium-bicarbonate type water

Fox Hills Aquifer Cont.

• Major source for domestic/stock use in western North Dakota

• Monitoring since 1980s indicate pressure head declines of 1 to 2 feet/year

• Negative impact on flowing wells in Little Missouri, Missouri, and Knife River valleys

Flowing wells in the Fox Hills Aquifer

Rate of Decline≈ 1.2 Feet/ Year

Management of Fox Hills Aquifer

• Groundwater mining is occurring

• Fox Hills Aquifer is an important water source

• Every effort should be made to develop large scale ground water supplies from other sources

Ground Water Availability in Glacial Aquifers

KILLDEER AQUIFER

Dunn County

Glacial Drift Aquifers

A

A’

Killdeer Aquifer

¼ to ½ mile wide

200+ feet

500 gpm

Geohydrologic Section A-A’ Showing the Killdeer Aquifer

Permit 370180 Acre-Feet

Permit 591520 Acre-Feet

City of Killdeer365 Acre-Feet

Medicine Hole Golf Course72 Acre-Feet

Approved Water Permits in the Killdeer Aquifer

Permit 6011134 Acre-FeetNone Granted

Permit 5989350 Acre-Feet130 Ac-Ft Granted

City of Killdeer365 Acre-Feet75 Ac-Ft Granted

Medicine Hole Golf Course300 Acre-Feet75 Ac-Ft Granted

Permit 6043350 Acre-FeetNone Granted

New Permits and Amounts Granted

Schematic Diagram of A Typical Glacial Diversion Channel Aquifer in Western North Dakota

Water Depots in North Dakota

• 28 Permitted Water Depots– 2,340 acre-feet (763 million gallons) per

year

• 30 Pending Water Permit Applications– 5,534 acre-feet (1.8 billion gallons) per

year

The most reliable water supply in terms of both quantity and quality required for oil field development in western North Dakota is Lake Sakakawea and the Missouri River