Water needs for potential oil shale industry could complicate things

GRAND JUNCTION – America’s thirst for oil is threatening to add to the thirst for water in the West.

Meeting the nation’s energy needs also is threatening water quality in the region, speakers said Friday at a seminar in Grand Junction on energy development’s impacts on water. The seminar was organized by the Colorado River District, based in Glenwood Springs.


It focused on possible oil shale development, which is considered to be an elephant in the room when it comes to planning for Colorado’s future needs.

High oil prices and a diminishing global supply have renewed interest in the oil shale industry, which went bust in the early 1980s. If the industry took off, full production could reach 2.5 million barrels per day. Each barrel could require 1 to 3 barrels of water to produce.

If full production occurred, that would require additional withdrawals of water from the Colorado and other rivers in western Colorado, said Cathy Wilson, who has studied the oil shale industry’s water needs for Los Alamos National Laboratory.

Glenwood Springs Post Independent