The issue of produced water is a pressing one facing the State. Significant amounts of water are produced from oil and gas operations in Colorado, which has the third largest gas reserves in the country. In 2012, produced water amounted to over 41,000 acre-feet, with over 20,000 acre-feet from the Western Slope alone. There are numbers of complex legal, regulatory, geographic, technical, social, and political considerations involved in any discussion...

The mission of the Water Center at Colorado Mesa University is to perform and facilitate interdisciplinary and collaborative research, education, outreach and dialogue to address the water issues facing the upper Colorado River Basin.