Water needed to Drill - can companies pump from public bodies of water?

Companies are going to need a lot of water to drill, and as we've seen in recent news bites, NW Louisiana may not have enough in aquifers. Has anyone heard of companies leasing up land near lakes or rivers in order to have access to the water? Are energy companies allowed to just pump water out willy-nilly? We signed a lease, and I'm wondering if they really wanted the water: we have access to a good bit of surface water - not on our land, but on the boundaries. (Our lease states they are not allowed to take water from on or under our property). Any thoughts?

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landownerPermalink Reply by Benjamin Hall on May 23, 2011 at 6:08

Regarding the flowing waters in Louisiana, the legal question of who owns that water is pretty clear--the state does. What is less clear is where those flowing waters begin...how far into the head waters.

 

If you're interested in hearing more about the legal status of water you can listen to this interview with the Director of the Sabine River Authority, Jim Pratt, and a legal expert on water from the law firm of Wiener Weiss and Madison in Shreveport (Cliffe Laborde).

 Wright Water Resources - reference material

http://www.wrightwaterresources.com/content/water-education-resources

 

The Sabine River Authority has sold approximately 1000 acre-feet of water last year from the Toledo Bend Project for frac purposes. It intends to sell more as well as create a formal permitting process for the sale of water from the major streams and tributaries that flow throughout the Sabine watershed.  I hope to do another teleconference on this evolving issue on the near future.

landownerPermalink Reply by Jack Blake on May 23, 2011 at 6:20

Jack Blake camps at Grand Bayou Resort in Coushatta.  Jack was told by someone involved with Grand Bayou reservoir authority that they made 400k from selling water to the oil companies for frac jobs, but due to low level in the reservoir that they quit selling water to the oil companies. 

Permalink Reply by Timber Gal on May 27, 2011 at 7:40
Thanks Benjamin (I'll listen to the teleconference),  Jack, Steve and all.   hgh

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