Impounding CBM water in holding tanks, reservoirs, and ponds.

Impounding CBM water by pumping it into storage facilities, reservoirs, and ponds has traditionally been a preferred water management option for CBM Operators. These impoundments are also known as infiltration ponds, evaporation ponds, or zero discharge ponds. While these ponds will handle some of the CBM water being produced, there are numerous environmental and economic limitations to impoundment:

1. This method requires NPDES and SEO permits, groundwater investigations and installation of approved groundwater monitoring wells, and continued management. In some cases Army Corps of Engineers approval is required. The permitting timeline is prohibitive.
2. The CBM operator will generally have to pay the landowner for the use of the property.
3. The CBM operator will have to endure the cost of installing water lines from each well and pump the water to the central impoundment.
4. These structures are generally very large and represent a a very high cost to build, and eventually to remove and reclaim the property.
5. These structures are limited to the amount of water they can hold and how fast the water can evaporate or infiltrate.
6. Many ponds must be lined to insure NO infiltration, requiring a higher cost and further limitation to the speed in which the water can evaporate.
7. Once the impoundment is full, CBM wells need to be shut-in or the water must rerouted to another water handling process until the water has evaporated to allow additional capacity in the reservoir.
8. Winter months pose further problems with freezing and ice flows, often closing the impoundments until the summer months.

Thus there is exceptionally high environmental and economic costs associated with CBM water impoundment.