Injection well

Treated wastewater can be injected into the ground between impermeable layers of rocks to avoid polluting surface waters. Injection wells are usually constructed of solid walled pipe to a deep elevation in order to prevent injectate from mixing with the surrounding environment.[1] Injection wells utilize the earth as a filter to treat the wastewater before it reaches the aquifer. This method of wastewater disposal also serves to spread the injectate over a wide area, further decreasing environmental impacts.

In the United States, there are about 800 deep injection waste disposal wells used by industries such as chemical manufacturers, petroleum refineries, food producers and municipal wastewater plants.[2] Most produced water generated by oil and gas extraction wells in the US is also disposed in deep injection wells.[3]

Critics of wastewater injection wells cite concerns about potential groundwater contamination. It is argued that the impacts of some injected wastes in groundwater is not fully understood, and that the science and regulatory agencies have not kept up with the rapid expansion of disposal practices in US, where there are over 680,000 wells as of 2012.[4]

Alternatives to injection wells include direct discharge of treated wastewater to receiving waters, conditioning of oil drilling and fracking produced water for reuse, utilization of treated water for irrigation or livestock watering, or processing of water at industrial wastewater treatment plants.[5] Direct discharge does not disperse the water over a wide area; the environmental impact is focused on a particular segment of a river and its downstream reaches or on a coastal water body. Extensive irrigation is not typical in areas where the produced water tends to be salty,[5] and this practice is often prohibitively expensive and requires ongoing maintenance and large electricity usage.[6]

Since the early 1990s, Maui County, Hawaii has been engaged in a struggle over the 3 to 5 million gallons per day of wastewater that it injects below the Lahaina Wastewater Reclamation Facility, over the claim that the water was emerging in seeps that were causing algae blooms and other environmental damage. After some twenty years, it was sued by environmental groups after multiple studies showed that more than half the injectate was appearing in nearby coastal waters. The judge in the suit rejected the County's arguments, potentially subjecting it to millions of dollars in federal fines. A 2001 consent decree required the county to obtain a water quality certification from the Hawaii Department of Health, which it failed to do until 2010, after the suit was filed.[7] The case proceeded through the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and subsequently to the Supreme Court of the United States. In 2020 the Court ruled in County of Maui v. Hawaii Wildlife Fund that injection wells may be the "functional equivalent of a direct discharge" under the Clean Water Act, and instructed the EPA to work with the courts to establish regulations when these types of wells should require permits.[8]

Another use of injection wells is in natural gas and petroleum production. Steam, carbon dioxide, water, and other substances can be injected into an oil-producing unit in order to maintain reservoir pressure, heat the oil or lower its viscosity, allowing it to flow to a producing well nearby.[9]

Yet another use for injection wells is in environmental remediation, for cleanup of either soil or groundwater contamination. Injection wells can insert clean water into an aquifer, thereby changing the direction and speed of groundwater flow, perhaps towards extraction wells downgradient, which could then more speedily and efficiently remove the contaminated groundwater. Injection wells can also be used in cleanup of soil contamination, for example by use of an ozonation system. Complex hydrocarbons and other contaminants trapped in soil and otherwise inaccessible can be broken down by ozone, a highly reactive gas, often with greater cost-effectiveness than could be had by digging out the affected area. Such systems are particularly useful in built-up urban environments where digging may be impractical due to overlying buildings.[10]

Recently the option of refilling natural aquifers with injection or percolation has become more important, particularly in the driest region of the world, the MENA region (Middle East and North Africa).[11]

Surface runoff can also be recharged into dry wells, or simply barren wells that have been modified to functions as cisterns.[12] These hybrid stormwater management systems, called recharge wells, have the advantage of aquifer recharge and instantaneous supply of potable water at the same time. They can utilize existing infrastructure and require very little effort for the modification and operation. The activation can be as simple as inserting a polymer cover (foil) into the well shaft. Vertical pipes for conduction of the overflow to the bottom can enhance performance. The area around the well acts as funnel. If this area is maintained well the water will require little purification before it enters the cistern.[13]

Injection wells are used to tap geothermal energy in hot, porous rock formations below the surface by injecting fluids into the ground, which is heated in the ground, then extracted from adjacent wells as fluid, steam, or a combination of both. The heated steam and fluid can then be utilized to generate electricity or directly for geothermal heating.[14][15][16]