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Download or read book Geochemical Analysis of the Powder River, Wyoming/Montana and an Assessment of the Impacts of Coalbed Natural Gas Co-produced Water written by Shaun A. Carter and published by ProQuest. This book was released on 2008 with total page 137 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the past decade, the coalbed natural gas (CBNG) industry in the Powder River Basin of northeastern Wyoming has experienced pronounced growth. However, production of natural gas has been accompanied by concerns regarding the disposal of groundwater produced with the gas. In response, the Montana Department of Environmental Quality approved numeric standards to be applied to several rivers entering the state from Wyoming, including the Powder River, limiting electrical conductivity (EC) and sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) in these streams. This research assesses the natural variability of water quality in the Powder River and the effects of CBNG co-produced water by comparing historic data to modern data collected from 2006 to 2008. Oxygen, hydrogen and carbon isotopes are evaluated as tools for identification of the source of water in the Powder River. [delta]13C proves to be a good indicator of the presence of CBNG water, which has a value distinct from that of surface water. The quality of water in the river, as it relates to the Montana standards, depends strongly on the flow of the river. At high flow, the EC and SAR of the river are within Montana standards. At low flow, most samples exceed these limits, including samples collected in Montana from streams which do not receive discharge of produced water. Some CBNG water is present in the Powder River. However, the current Montana standards are not well-suited to identify this component because they do not account for the natural seasonal variability of water quality in the Powder River.