April 29, 2025
The Evolution of Produced Water Management in the Marcellus Shale: Keystone Clearwater + Hydro Recovery, LP
In the Marcellus Shale one of the biggest expenses for natural gas production is water management. Water plays a critical role in extracting gas from the Marcellus, and each well drilled both requires water to frac and produces water. (Larger operators can produce 20 – 30k barrels per day across all of their production!) Because of this, while the Marcellus is naturally water-rich, over the years energy companies have moved from paying for fresh water to recycling and reusing their vast quantities of produced water.
This change in strategy is both economically and environmentally sound, and it has driven the evolution of Keystone Clearwater’s strategic partner in the region, Hydro Recovery LP.
Produced water management, from the early days of disposal to sharing a resource
In the initial years of natural gas production in the Marcellus, produced water was disposed of in wells dug deep into the earth, below the water table. When it became evident that this was not sustainable, natural gas companies began to look for ways to treat (remove solids and floating materials) and reuse both flowback and produced water.
This is where Hydro Recovery, LP came into play. In 2009, Hydro was formed to be a no surface discharge water treatment provider in the Marcellus Shale. The company specialized in disposal through recycling dedicated storage, water sourcing, high solids and friction reducer treatment and wastewater management services to the natural gas industry.
The leadership team worked with natural gas producers to provide economic and environmentally friendly solutions to the number one issue in the production of natural gas – water management. Water was trucked offsite for storage, treatment and/or disposal.
Today, the industry standard is to treat and reuse onsite, or at another frack nearby following the crew as they move pad to pad. If one company doesn’t have an active well, they will often “share” the treated water with another company. It’s a way for both companies to reduce the cost, and increase the efficiency, of managing produced water in the Marcellus.
How Hydro Recovery, LP helps the natural gas industry with produced water management today
Hydro Recovery has been a strategic partner of Keystone Clearwater Solutions since 2019 and, together, the companies offer three key pieces of produced water management: trucking, treatment and tanks.
At the facility in Burgettstown, Pa., Hydro Recovery accepts and processes inbound deliveries of production and flowback water for reuse and recycling.
The company treats this water to create hydraulic stimulation fluid (HSF), which can then be reused in the extraction process. By recycling flowback and produced water, Hydro significantly reduces the volume of freshwater needed for hydraulic fracturing – a win for both the environment and energy production efficiency.
Hydro Recovery’s 285,000 barrels of storage are for “hoteling” water, not for permanent disposal. The goal is to reuse as much of the treated water (HSF) as possible for additional oil and natural gas extraction.
Cost effective water management is key to successful energy production in the Marcellus
Keystone Clearwater is commited to working with natural gas and oil companies in the Marcellus Shale to support oil and natural gas extraction in the most efficient, environmentally sound, way possible. In partnership with Hydro Recovery, LP, Keystone Clearwater has the expertise and experience – as well as the trucks, tanks and resources – needed to do exactly that.
Keystone Clearwater Solutions
With an experienced workforce and a full range of equipment and services that help with the water management challenges inherent to oil and natural gas projects in the Marcellus Shale, Keystone Clearwater Solutions and Hydro Recovery, LP can meet the water transfer needs of oil and gas operators, municipal authorities, and industrial markets in Texas and the Mid-Atlantic region. Contact us today for details.
For more information contact Michael Eck, Senior Vice President, Keystone Clearwater Solutions, LLC and Hydro Recovery, LP, cell: 724-612-7422 or meck@keystoneclear.net
