Landowners, you have made or are making decisions that will impact the effects that Coal Bed Methane (CBM) wells will have on your property for years to come. One of the biggest concerns is how the water produced from CBM wells might be used, stored or transported on or off your property, and the impact on your current or future water needs. You may also be concerned about the environmental effects and reclamation requirements of having CBM wells on your property.

While there are many different methods of handling CBM produced water, only ONE method can:

1. potentially enhance the quantity and quality of an aquifer on your property
2. keep all the water on your land and in the ground for future use
3. eliminate the need for extensive water piping systems, holding ponds, or treatment facilities
4. eliminate ice flows from surface water discharged during the winter months
5. eliminate the extensive excavating and environmental reclamation issues
6. give you the opportunity to obtain senior water rights on your property
7. increase the speed and reduce the costs to develop the CBM wells on your property, and thus the time it takes to produce royalties for landowners


This method is known as the Aquifer Reinjection Process in which water produced from a CBM well is NEVER brought to the surface. Instead, the water in each well is re-injected into a typically shallower aquifer with the same water quality inside the same wellbore. Numerous CBM operators are now implementing or testing this Aquifer Reinjection Process using an Aquifer Reinjection Device (ARID) as part of their overall CBM well operations. CBM operators are realizing that the ARID system is the most environmentally friendly and cost effective method for handling CBM produced water while also reducing the time and cost of production.

You may have some other questions about this system, please review the questions & answers below:

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1A. The ARID system is a relatively new process which has been in testing for over a year. It is only now that the ARID system is a proven solution for efficient and environmentally friendly produced water handling.

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2A. No, the water from the CBM well is pumped directly into an aquifer that has water of the same use quality. Thus the water injected into the Aquifer with the ARID system adds water to the aquifers that can supply water to your livestock wells.

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3A. The Arid system may work on 100% of the wells on your property but there are some situations where the ARID system may not work. When the CBM wells are planned a simple geological survey will indicate which wells may be implemented with the ARID system. It is estimated that 97% of the wells in the Powder River Basin could benefit from the ARID system. Some wells may produce more water than can be re-injected, but often the majority of the water can be re-injected and saved for future use.

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4A. In most cases, CBM wells will operate for more than 10 years and during that time water must be removed from the coal seam in order to produce methane gas. All of this water can be effectively moved to another aquifer on your property, enhancing and increasing the water in that aquifer. Most land owners are able to obtain senior water rights on the water injected into that aquifer, which will become a valuable asset to the landowner’s property.

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5A. The deep well injection process requires that all of the produced water is forced down one very deep well. This deep injection well may not even be on your property. And, the deep well aquifer is usually of poor water quality and not accessible for future use by the landowner. The ARID system is an exceptional solution for handling water produced from CBM wells, to move water from coal bed aquifers to aquifers that are accessible to land owners for future water usage. The water from each well stays in the wellbore and is allowed to flow into another aquifer that is usually available above the coal seam. Another benefit of this ARID system is that if a single well system fails for any reason only one well is shut down versus an entire field feeding a deep-well system.

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6A. It can often take over a year for CBM well operators to survey and get permits for CBM wells with extensive above ground water handling systems, and then even longer for water handling infrastructure to be deployed when those methods of water handling are utilized. Because the ARID system of re-injecting water is done in each wellbore, CBM wells that utilize the ARID system are usually permitted within weeks, and the CBM well can usually be up and running within 30 days of permitting.

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Landowner’s property is a vital and important component of the CBM industry, and landowner property must be handled to the benefit of the landowner for many uses after CBM well gas production is depleted. The ARID system supports the long term needs and rights of the landowner, while reducing costs and implementation time for CBM operators. The ARID system is a win, win opportunity for both.

If you would like more information about the ARID system and how it may benefit your property please contact Jim Farnsworth or Tim Barritt from Big Cat Energy at 307-468-9369.

If the ARID system is not being utilized on your property you may want to contact your CBM well operator and ask about using the ARID system on your land.