GUEST EDITORIAL: Produced water: An opportunity for both labor and the land

When most people hear about the oil and gas industry, they think about drilling rigs, pipelines or refineries. What doesn’t get talked about enough is the water that comes up with every barrel of oil. Right now, that water mostly gets pushed back underground. To the people I represent, that looks like throwing away both work opportunities and a valuable resource.

I am the business manager for Boilermakers Local 627. Our members are the welders and builders who put steel on the ground and keep critical infrastructure running. We have done this work in New Mexico and across the country for generations, building power plants, fabricating tanks and keeping industrial facilities strong. The next step in that tradition could be the systems that clean up and reuse produced water. That’s not theory. It’s jobs. It’s paychecks. It’s the kind of work that lets families put food on the table and keeps communities alive.

Produced water is the byproduct that comes up with oil and gas. It has to be cleaned before it can be reused, but the technology is there, and facilities are already being designed to do it. Once treated, this water can replace the fresh water that industries depend on. That matters, because every gallon of produced water reused is one less gallon of fresh water pulled from rivers or aquifers. Building that reuse infrastructure means more tanks, more treatment systems, and more welding work for trained craftsmen.

We know these projects can succeed. Other states have already moved forward. In Pennsylvania and Wyoming, union trades have had a hand in building the facilities that handle produced water. Those jobs went to boilermakers and other skilled workers who know how to construct and maintain complex systems. New Mexico can do the same. With projects in both the Permian Basin and the San Juan Basin, the potential for new employment is significant.

For my members, this is about more than just jobs. Seventy percent of our local is Native American. These are men and women with deep roots in the Southwest who have been part of building its energy infrastructure for decades. They want to keep building, and they want to be part of solutions that matter for their families and communities. Produced water reuse gives them a chance to do exactly that.

The choice is straightforward. We can keep shoving this water back underground and missing the chance to put people to work, or we can build the projects that clean it up and use it. Nobody is saying this is simple, but the workforce is ready. We know how to weld the tanks, weld the penstock and maintain the facilities. Our members take pride in doing that work safely and doing it right.

For labor, the answer is clear. Produced water reuse means new projects, steady jobs and stronger communities. It is a chance to carry forward the tradition of building while also helping New Mexico stretch its water supplies. That is the kind of opportunity worth taking.