How can holding ponds hold all that water being produced from CBM development?
CBM product water holding ponds (also called infiltration ponds, evaporation ponds, or zero discharge ponds) are designed to hold CBM water and avoid any discharge onto the ground surface. Typical holding ponds are not lined and therefore discharge water to the subsurface. Some MT Bureau of Mines and Geology shallow monitoring wells show rising water levels in response to pond leakage in an area where CBM product water is being stored. This phenomenon was similarly reported by the Bureau of Land Management scientists monitoring relatively shallow aquifers near holding ponds in the upper Powder River Basin. In addition, seepage flow from impoundments is likely to reach stream channels via subsurface flow.
