West Dakota Water – Saving North Dakota Roads

Williston: West Dakota Water (WDW) is saving the state, counties and townships millions of dollars in road maintenance and construction costs through private investment in water pipeline infrastructure.

WDW Principal Engineer Drew Poeckes states, "The most economical way to transport water is through a pipeline. We currently pipe water upwards of 30 miles to well sites by utilizing permanent underground infrastructure to transport the water. West Dakota Water takes away much truck traffic to and from well sites thus saving the state, counties and townships money on the maintenance of their road systems. We are a private company putting in infrastructure (pipelines) that takes the burden off of the public infrastructure (roads)."

WDW is a subsidiary company to JMAC Resources, Inc., and has worked closely with their engineering and technical partner Bartlett & West, to plan, design, construct and provide operational services for fresh water delivery.

WDW was granted an industrial permit by the ND State Water Commission in 2012 to withdraw 10,000 ac-ft. annually from the Missouri River. In addition to this permit, WDW was also permitted to construct permanent submerged intakes into the Missouri River for withdrawing this water. The installed intakes allow for year round access to the water even in the harshest weather conditions.

Poeckes states, "Not only does WDW take much needed strain off of public roads, but also helps to ensure the aquifers of North Dakota are preserved for use by future generations." Poeckes adds, "West Dakota Water recognizes the desire by the State of North Dakota to put waters of the Missouri River to beneficial use that further expand the economy of North Dakota. If the state fails to put its share of the Missouri River to beneficial use it risks the potential of losing that water to downstream states. We knew the state's desire was to develop the Missouri River water for industrial uses such as hydraulic fracturing and to get away from using our North Dakota aquifer water as the aquifer water takes years to replenish. We are utilizing the Missouri River water for the betterment of our state. The aquifer water is considered sacred and the state would rather it be saved for agricultural and municipal uses."

In addition to saving the North Dakota Public infrastructure and North Dakota's aquifer water, pipelining water from the Missouri River to oil and energy sites has multiple other benefits including:

1)Safety – less truck traffic

2)Environmental – less dust

3)Diesel – less trucks on the road equals less diesel fuel being burned.

4)Efficiency - huge cost savings for oil & energy companies

In February of 2014, the ND State Water Commission published, Facts About North Dakota fracking & Water Use, and in this publication they state, "Surface water is the preferred source, because the region where the oil extraction is occurring contains the Missouri River, through which approximately 96 percent of the water in North Dakota's rivers and streams flows annually. The Missouri River system is an extremely valuable source of water, both in terms of quality and quantity." Additionally the publication states some interesting facts:

The average fracking process in North Dakota requires about seven acre-feet of water.

One day of the average daily flow of the Missouri River at Bismarck (45,480 acre-feet) is enough water to frac 6,497 wells, or 87% of all the wells that have been fracked in North Dakota.

The Missouri River system is located in the heart of the oil production efforts with massive amounts of water that are readily available. WDW has the permits, the tools, and the ability to efficiently and quickly meet the water needs of the oil and energy industry in the McKenzie County area of western North Dakota.

If you'd like more information on West Dakota Water, contact Drew Poeckes at 701-580-5968.