Potential effects of CMB product water on soil, water, plants, and land

resources

Kristin KeithJames Bauder

Dept of Land Resources & Environmental SciencesMontana State University

Photograph compliments of John Wheaton

Water is a Finite Resource

other

Lakes/Streams 0.01%

Clouds 0.001%

Oceans 97.2%

Groundwater 0.6%

Glaciers/Ice 2.1%

Background Information

Extraction of CBM requires withdrawal of large amounts of from coal seams containing methane.

Projections call for disposal or management of one quarter million acre-feet of product water annually in the Powder River Basin.

Water Quality Issue: Common signature of CBM product water is salinity x sodicity.

Objectives What is saline water? What is sodic

water? Current CBM product water

management methods MSU research on potential effect of

CMB product water on soil, plants, water, and land resources

Can we manage CBM product water?

What is saline water and why is it considered saline?

Saline water has a relatively high concentration of dissolved salts.

Salinity of water is referred to in terms of Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), salinity is estimated by measuring the Electrical

Conductivity (EC) of water

The U.S. Department of Agriculture defines water with an EC greater than 3.0 dS/m as saline.

What is sodic water and why is it considered sodic?

The sodicity of water is expressed as the Sodium Adsorption Ratio (SAR) which is:

(These values are in meq/L)

Sodic water is any water with a SAR greater than 12. Sodic water is not necessarily saline.

SAR N a / (CA + M G ) / 2

Current CBM Product Water Management

Discharged into a stream channel

Impounded Holding pond, infiltration pond, “0 discharge” pond

Land applied to crop or range land

MSU CBM Product Water Research Goals

Understand the chemistry, quantity, and distribution of CBM product water in the Montana portion of Powder River Basin.

Assess the interaction between surface dispersed CBM product water and soil, water, plants, and land resources.

Conduct research with the primary focus of defining CBM product water management strategies which will ensure sustainability of Montana’s soil, plant, and water resources.

Soil Chemistry Responses to Saline-Sodic Water

Kimberly RobinsonMSU Graduate Research

Objective: Determine how valley soils which may be subjected to

irrigation will react with repeated wetting with saline-sodic water

Sampling locations within Powder River watershed, Prairie County Conservation District, and Buffalo Rapids Irrigation District.

Soil textural triangle, illustrating representation of individual soil materials treated with various water quality x wetting regimes.

Irrigation Simulation Conditions

Water Quality Powder River

EC = 1.6 dS/m SAR = 4.5 pH = 8.0 CBM Product Water

EC = 3.1 dS/m SAR = 13.0 pH = 8.0 Irrigation Treatment

Powder River: 1x 5x 5x then distilled

water CBM Product Water:

1x 5x 5x then distilled water

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

4 6 7 8 9 15 17 18 19 21 21 22 23 26 28 29 30 33 33 34 37 44 45 52 56

Ranked Clay %

EC

(d

S/m

) (S

atu

rate

d P

aste

Ext

ract

)

Baseline

1X Wet/Dry-P.R.

1X Wet/Dry-CBM

5X Wet/Dry-P.R.

5X Wet/Dry-P.R.+distilled

5X Wet/Dry-CBM

5X Wet/Dry-CBM + distilled

Copyright: K. M. Robinson, MSU-BozemanLand Resources Environmental Science-2002

Textural Class 1 Textural Class 2 Textural Class 3 Textural Class 4

P.R. Treatment EC

CBM Treatment EC

Soil solution saturated paste extract (ECsat) versus percent clay of soil material prior to

treatment (baseline) and following treatment with various water quality x wetting regimes

Soil solution SAR versus percent clay of soil material prior to treatment (baseline) and following treatment with various water quality x wetting

regimes

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

4 6 7 8 9 15 17 18 19 21 21 22 23 26 28 29 30 33 33 34 37 44 45 52 56

Ranked Clay %

SA

R (S

atu

rate

d P

aste

Ext

ract

)

Baseline

1X Wet/Dry-P.R.

1X Wet/Dry-CBM

5X Wet/Dry-P.R.

5X Wet/Dry-P.R.+distilled

5X Wet/Dry-CBM

5X Wet/Dry-CBM+distilled

Copyright: K. M. Robinson, MSU-BozemanLand Resources Environmental Science-2002

Textural Class 1 Textural Class 2 Textural Class 3 Textural Class 4

CBM Treatment SAR

P.R. Treatment SAR

What are the common difficulties with the use of sodic

water for irrigation?

Use of sodic water for irrigation can be risky business on soils having significant amounts of swelling clay. On such soils: sodium changes soil physical properties, leading

to poor drainage and crusting, which can affect crop growth and yield.

Irrigation with sodic water on sandy soils does not cause crusting and poor drainage. However, if the water is saline-sodic, it may affect crop growth and yield.

Suggested range in EC and SAR of irrigation water for various soil

texturesSource: Western Fertilizer Handbook

Soil Texture EC range (mmhos/cm)

SAR upper limit

Flood Sprinkler

Flood Sprinkler

Very Coarsesand, loamy sand

0-4 0-5 18 24

Coarsesandy loam

0-3 0-4.5 12 15

Mediumloam, silt loam

0.2-2.5 0-3 12 15

Medium fineclay loam, sandy clay loam

0.3-2.5 0.2-3 8 12

FineSilty clay loam, sandy clay, clay, silty clay

0.5-2 0.3-2.5 6 9

What are the common problems or difficulties with the use of saline water for irrigation?

Crop production becomes a problem as salts accumulate in the root zone high enough to negatively affect plant growth.

Excess soluble salts in

the root zone restrict plant roots from withdrawing water from the surrounding soil.

Tolerant EC > 10

Semi-Tolerant EC = 4-10

Sensitive EC < 4

Crops BarleySugarbeetSunflower

WheatOatsCornSafflower

PotatoField BeanPeasLentils

Forages Tall wheatgrassBearless wildryeAltai wildryeSlender wheatgrassWestern WheatgrassRussian wildryeBarley

SweetcloverAlfalfaTall FescueWheat (hay)OrchardgrassCicer milkvetch

White cloverRed cloverLadino cloverAlsike cloverMeadow foxtail

Crop Tolerance to Saline Water

Salinity & Sodicity Tolerance of Selected Plant Species of the

Northern Cheyenne Reservation

Nikos J. Warrance

MSU Graduate Student

Dr. James W. Bauder

Krista E. Pearson

LRES Department

MSU-Bozeman

Tolerance and/or sensitivity of selected plants on the Northern Cheyenne

Reservation to salinity, sodicity, and flooding

Understand how native and culturally significant plants would respond to increases in salinity and sodicity.

A list of native and culturally significant plant species was obtained from the Department of Environmental Protection, Northern Cheyenne Tribe.

A thorough search of references dealing with salinity, and sodicity tolerances for the plants in question was then undertaken.

Examples of culturally significant plant species of the Northern Cheyenne

Reservation

Sensitive (EC < 2 dS/m, SAR 1.6 - 8

June/Service Berry Red Osier Dogwood Red Shoot Goose

Berry Chokecherry Wild Plum Quaking Aspen Leafy Aster Red Raspberry

Moderately Sensitive (EC 2-4 dS/m, SAR <8)

Common Spikerush Field Horsetail Horsemint Sweet Medicine Sandbar Willow Snowberry Cattail Sweet Grass Saw Beak Sedge Stinging Nettle Western Yarrow

Chemistry of CBM Product Water upon Surface

Dispersal

Holly SessomsMSU Graduate Research

Objective:Determine the behavior of chemistry of CBM product water

in stream channels

Change in water chemistry for three water qualities over a 9 day time

period; subject to evapoconcentration.    

 Initial

pHFinal pH

Initial EC

Final EC

Initial SAR

Final SAR

% Change

EC

% Change

SAR

WQ6 7.4 8.1 3.07 3.75 3.7 4.4 22.15 18.92

WQ7 7.7 8.4 3.36 4.01 12.5 18 19.35 44.00

WQ8 7.5 9.1 5.42 6.71 20.7 33.8 23.80 63.29

 

         

Average %

Change

21.77 42.07

Other Research

Aaron DeJoia Cascade Earth

Sciences

Change in water chemistry from outfall to irrigation

Source pH SAR ECmmhos/cm

Outfall 7.5 20-26 3.8-4.2

Pump 8.2 27-30 2.6

Irrigation Nozzle

8.7 32 2.9

Summary

Sustainable CBM product water management requires rigorous monitoring and coordinated management Essential requirements – Soil, water, and plant baseline information Amount and quality of CBM product water Rigorous monitoring at all points Coordinated water management with

multiple strategies

http://waterquality.montana.edu