U.S. Depart. of Interior Salinity Update, Jan. 1982

'

U.S

. Depa,

b oeut of the lulenor

Bureau of Recaualion

Salirity

Update

A Quarterly

Colorado River Waler Ouallty

Report on the

lniprovement

Ptog,a,,

Coal

Capsule Pipeline

?

By

w

.R. Grace & Co.

ConcepC: A pipeline unique to the

Colorado Ri-drainage

area

for

transporting coal contained in disposable plastic capsules and thus completely separated from the saline water medium used to obtain neutral booyancy of the coal ooolarlef

The SallnrtyControt Fon.m has grappled for

many years

with the problems of excessive total dissolYed solids in the Colorado Ri\/er, and

we "'

the coal inc:lustry haw been struggwig to remain oompelltive in the face of rapidly escalating rail rates. I would like to Offer you an Idea that weat WA Grace & Co. are wor1ong on that could partially solve both of these problems.

An unusual opportunity eXJSls in the Colorado River basin for transporting coal via pipeline to the Pacific Coast and in the prooess disposing of some ol the ColOrado

January 1982

PLASTIC BAG CAPSULES

30"Dia.x IS'Long

SALINE

WATER

TRANSPORT

M

EDIA

RNer's total dissolved solids problem. The projeCt enllisions the coope, ation of Federal, State, IOcal, public, and ndustJial entities to remove about 1

o

percent of the salts cum,ntly entenng the Colorado Ri\/er and to pass this saline water through a pipeline to the Pacific Ocean

.

We feel the capital investment for the pipeline could be obtained

from private

sources

based on Federal payments for removal of salts from the Colorado Riller and transpof1a!ion fees for encapsulated coal to mat1<et.

A ~inch diameter pipeline would be constructed from

a

point

near

Axial, Colorado, to a point yet to be ascertained on the caJifomia Pacific

Coast.

a

distance of about 1,200 plus miles. Coal mined in Colorado and Utah would feed the pipeline W1th up to 20 million tons per year. Fresh wale< owned by W.R. Grace & Co., about 12.(XX) acre feet per year. could be used to transport part of the coal from Axial to

a

point

near

Rifle, Colorado. where rt would be exchanged for water containing up to 14,000

milligrams per liter ol tolal dissolved solids.

from

the Glenwood/Oolsero Springs for transport to the Paafic Ocean.

The Bureau of Reclamation has been charged by Federal law with the

responsibility to reduce salt content of the Colorado River, as measi.ed at Imperial Dam in Arizona. to the 1972 le\lel. This callS for 2B million tons of salt remOYal from the drainage system ol lhe Colorado River by around the year 2!XXl. The proposed saline

water/coal capsule pipeline project would remove an estimated 250,000 tons of salt per year of the required amount.

Th,s pipeline would drtler dramatically

from

a

coal slurry p,peline The coal would be crushed, cleaned. and dned at the mine.

tt

would then be placed in a plastic capSIAe ("baggie"). The capsules containing the coal would have a specific gravity equal to the saline water ""1ictl would transport them to the Pac,fic.

The process of transporting coal in plastic

researched by the Alberta Resean:h Institute a few years ago. The capsules 1hat

were

used to carry the coal after emplying could be incinerated at lhe final destination point and

lheir hydrocarbon heat c:ontenl recovered.

Since the coal is cleaned, crushed, and dried

before shipment. a more troiform and higher grade coal could be delillered direct to the

power plant lhan lhrough existing

tra. ,sportation means. Moisture, sulphur, and

ash

content

would be reduced prior to encapoulation and lhe coal would be

stablized in the capsule so lhatspontaneous

comb.$tion could not

occur

during transport

and storage. Significant

saw,gs

could be realized in the design of new power plants \'!!rSUS the

use

of coal tra, ,spo.1ecl ,n a saline

wal!!f sluny. In addition, the benefits of removing highly saline

water

from the

Colorado River basin could be SJ.Jbstantial.

The _ , Colorado River Basin States will need to teView existi~ wale< laws

tor

SJ.Jch a

project to be possible. One

reason

lhis

analysis has been delayed IS because no

viable means of transporting coal and water contaJning high amounts of dissolved solids

has been available. Now, with a market for U.S. coal emerging in the Pacific Alm

COIM1lries of Japan, Korea, and Taiwan for 10

to 20 million tons of coal per year by 1990, a

pipeline transport of Colorado and Utah coal

seems

feasible. Since the

number

of coal caps, lies can be varied from time to time, this

particular concept allows lot' the gradual

buildup of coal shipments and

tor

market flucruations in lhe future. Also, rt avoids

p,ollla11S associated wrth coal/saline water slumes that

have not

been resolved to date. The p,oblems of the saline water leaching

undesirable minerals out of the coal during transl)Ort (and lhus adding to a water disposal proolem) and saline materials being

added to the coal. which caMOI be entirely

remcNed before bum,ng tt..os causing

corrosion, slagging, and fouhng during the combustion process,

are

resolved with this

process.

Research is continuing within W.R. Grace &

Co, and with outside consultants. The financing of the pipeline is bemg discussed wilh Lazatd Freres and Co. of New York.

Prepa,ed by Ira E. McKeever, Jr, President Wastem Mining OperaJJons, W.R Grace &

Co..

Natural Resources Group, Stapleton Plaza. 3333 Quebec Srreet.

Suite

88oo,

Denver, Colorado, 8(J2.(Jl, (303) 399-(Jl79.

Paradox Valley

Public

Meeting

m)8Ction, more attractive from the technocal, economic, and environme<rtal standpo,nt

Basically, the idea consis1s of conveying the brine from well field in a pipeline and disposing of it in a permeable geologic

formation deep under Paradox Valley at a depth of approxrnately 14,000 feet.

A public meeting and tour were held in Mr. Amstutz explaJned the technical details

Paradox Valley, Colorado, on November 13 involved wrth deep ,,ell injection of brine

and 14, 1961, for people interested in the and, in response to

one

concern, stated, ·11

Paradox Valley Unit of the Colorado River any potential for fresh.wale< contamination

Wale< Quality lmproyement Program. existed, we would not recommend it

as

a Bureau of Reciamation personnel and Mr. means of disposal." By December 1961,

Ray Amstutz, a ,ep,eseutative of Williams detailed designs and

cost

estimates wil be

Brothers Engineering of Tulsa, Oklahoma, available. Afterwan:ls,apermrtapplicationlot'

were on hand bolh days to present the results underground iniecoon w,11 be obtained from

of last yea(s testing, to introduce the brin&- the State of Colorado, and an injection well

disposal plan using

•:!eei:

well injection, and will be built and tested for several months to answer any questions on the unit. before making a final decision. While touing

Seventeen people atteuded the public the wen foekl, ,esideuts, e...en !hose who'-e meeting on Friday

e.enong

,

November 13, on lived in the valley lot' years, expressed

l l , e . l > a , a d o x ~ - . , ,_1, _ _ _,su=rp,,,rise=..at,,,_,the=..,oex:,,la=G,:-e,._.,areas==of,_,the'-"'--"'"'"'""'oe '----NoYember 14, five people toured the well- inflow and the obnoxious odor of hydrogeo-field testing facilities. Al the public meeting SJ.Jlfide gas. The participants

were

told

wel-Rege Leach and Errol Jensen from the field testing and .erification will continue and

Durango Projects Office highlighted the studies on evaporation pond disposal haw!

reSJ.Jlts of the well-field testing and been suspended l.fflll more informatw:,n IS monitofing program begt.n in March 1980 available on deejl well injection. Many of the along the Dolores River in Paradox Valley. area residents cocm1e11ted favorably on the

These reSJ.Jlts showed 1hat by pumping brine presentations and on lhe direction of the unit

at a rate of 12 cubic feel per second (540 study. gallons per minute) approximately 60

percent of lhe past 8-year's average brine

onftow could have been controlled. Originally,

a

5 cubic feet per second (els) rate was

anticipated as being necessa,y to control brine inflow to the Dolores River.

The audience was infonned lhat by

installing a few more pumping wells in

strategic locations and by pumping at a

rate

of 2 els (900 gallons per minute), the originally estimated lll0,000 tons of salt per

year stoll could be removed. Many area residents. concerned about their domestic

waler supplies, viewed profiles of water-table levels that showed well-field pumping did not

significantly affect their wells.

Bureau personnel and Mr. Amstutz also

informed the audience 1hat last yea(s

findings concerning a pumping rate of 2 cfs, sufficient to control brine inflow, changed the criteria for evaluating disposal methodS and

made another altemabve, deep-well

CRSS Executive

Summary

Available

The Coloraoo Fmw Simulation System. An

Executive

Summary, publos/led in Oclober

1961, is available by wnting Bureau of Reclamation, D-752 (CRSS) P.O. Box 25007,

Denver Federal Center, Denver CO II0225 or Telephone (303) 234-2027.

The CASS (Colorado River Simulation System) is

a

delermimstoc digital computerized somulabon model lhat has

been developed by the Bureau of

Reclamation in acco<dance with all of the

'"l..aws of the River." Wrth CASS, proposed

changes to the operation or alternative develOPment schei, oes of the river system

can be modeled and their effect on the future quanbty and qualrty of water in the,,-

may

be evaluated.

World's First

Solar Powered

Seawater

RO

Plant

Supplies

Water

to

Saudi

Arabian

Facility

From: DuPont lnduslry News

Abu idai ti stn 131 Iii

.e

is I

e1JAI

ig to ease a

polable water shortage at a club for Mobil

employees near Jeddah, Saudi Arabia. The

facility rv::,,, receives

rts

dml<ing waler from

the WOtld's first solar-~ seawater •

reverse

O&TlOSis (RO) plant. which. in April, began desalting 1.000 gallons per day of

seawater from the Red Sea.

The complete system was designed and mslalled by Mobil Tyro

Solar

Energy Corpo,atio,, and is owned and operated by

Mobil Saudi Arabia. Water Sen,ic:es of Amenc:a, Inc. designed and built the RO system The solar system

uses

an

8 kW array

of 210 nbbon photovoltaic

ceos

to

convert the

sun's rays into electricity. A batlery bank acts

as

a short-lerm energy buffer between the photO\IOltaic

array

and the eleclrical load.

The AO system uses two types of

pe, 111eabs, operating in series to produce

supenor

quality water. Seawaler first passes through two high-pressure permeators, reduClng the salt oontent from 42,BOO ppm to

below 500 ppm TDS. The pro,iJct water from those penneato,s then passes tlvough two

low-pressure penneators, further reducing

saliMy to well below 100 ppm TDS.

A seawater RO system

was

chosen for its low ere:gy oonsumption and

ease

of operat,on and maintenance Seawater RO

systems consume less than OOEH1alf the ene,gy of thermal desalination Ulits.

Changes

in USDA

Aec:en1 retirement and <><ganizational

changes within USDA ha-.e brought about

some personnel changes and restructuring

of the Colorado River

Basin

Salinity Control

Program (CRBSCPJ

1n

USDA The USDA

Soil Conservation Serw:e (SCS) has reslructured the CRBSCP from the Basin and Area Planning (BAP)

Staff

to the Water

Ouality Project Implementation (WQPI)

Staff.

watter

F. Rittall, Director, WOP!, becomes the

new

USDA Salinity Control Liaison

Officer, replacing Edgar H. Nelson, Director,

BAP

.

At the same time, George L. Stern

assoo,es staff leadership responsibliltties replacing Kar1 R. Klir,geloofei, who retired

Oclober1, 1981. lnamouncmgthechanges, Joseph W.

Haas

,

SCS Deputy

Chief for Natural Resource Projects. expteSSed

• ... sincere appreciation for the leadership and dedication provided by tooth Mr. Nelson

and Mr. Klingelhofer." Walter Rittall

was

fonnei1y with the U.S. Environmental Pro4ection Agency as Section Chief for

Agnculture and Silvicultule. Nonpoint

Source

Branch, Waler Division. George Siam's recent experiences include developing agricultural nonpoint source

water quality programs targe!ed towards

phosphonJs loading reductions for the lal<e

Elie drainage basins.

Fred Swader, Program Leader for

ErMronmental Quality. ExlerlSlon

SeMce.

is the

new

USDA Extension Seivice

,

ep,ese.

,tative. He has recently served as

W:ll1d's 111$1 .,..,-~ ..., RO {re¥ffll9 ~

dee8lbnO p1ar11 i& .e

-d•• .,...,,

...,...

no powr,,EW" tcuCe

~ lheain. Thel'l'IOCUe..,.,~ MICII.Jre"9o_.. • .,

.... net. to, t h e ~ bA*'lg.

Extension Soil Specialist for oonsen,ation

and drainage at Cornell University, Ithaca,

New York, and will participate as the

Extension Service advisoiy member to the Forum Work Group.

We look forward to the USDA oontributions

MesslS. Rittal, Stem. and Swader are bringing to the Colorado River Basin Salinity Control Program.

Title

II,

Onfaml

Prognm

Progress

Recent dellelopments in the Grand

Va&ef

Salinity Control project in Colorado include increased technical staffing, oontinued

moniloring.-and $Ubsla,>liel

aooomplishments in the onfarm land treatment The SCS technical staff has been

increased

from 9 to 13 people, with one

pe,son given specific responsibility for the alHmportant task of proyiding followup onfann irrigation water management technical assistance.

Land treatment applications include the

following: 20 miles of delivery pipelines. 7

miles of gated pipes. 11 miles of concrete

drtch lining, 500 aaes of land leveling, and

1200 acres of semi-automatic

irrigation

systems. These ha-.e been acoomplished through work with 53:l individual farme,s participating in the annual cost-share program of the Agricultural Stabilization and

Conservation SeMce. USDA

These 1981 accomplishments represent a savings of 1, 115 acte-feet of water oonseived

and a salt load reduction of 5,500 tons per

year

to the

Colorado River

.

The project efforts to date

include2.SOO

acr&-feet of

warer

conseived, 13,000 tons per

year salt

load

reduction, and a resultant downstream impact which reduces salinity

concentrations at lmpe,iaJ Dam by 1.35 mg/1.

In the Uintah Basin Salinity Control project, USDA has made substantial progress in obhgating the S4 miUion cost-share allocation through the Agric:uttural

I

l

Stabilization and

Conservation

Service. In

the 2-year 1960-1961 progress report, 88

percent (or $3,521,517) has i - i obligated. Most ol these dollars (86 percent or

$3.()32.903) have been co, 11 nilled through long-tetm agreements with local farmers in the project area.

Of 174 farmers assisted in theU.ntah Basin, 100 ha"'3 participated through the lon9-term

agreement process. Total

aaes

ser;ed

t

o

date

are

12,020.

Major

·

Accomplishmen

ts

i

n

1981

Grand V*'f Stage One canal lining of 6.8 miles was constructed. along with 6.5 miles

ol 11taceptor ditch, 4 detention ponds,

enlatgement of c~rainage features, and

the field stillon. A contract was awarded for latenlls below the lined canal section

to

be

pl.aced in pl.;:,e. Stage One Oe\'C!opmC<1t Morw1oring Plan report was completed.

Psadox

V*t

UnH suocess in loweting brine levels by pumping led to study of deep

well injection of brine. Deep well injection

appears faYOrable.

In lM Vegas Wash Unit, a tec:tvuc:al

coordinating group

was

established

t

o

formJla1e

a com

pre

hensive

water

management plan for the las Vegas Wash. Status and special

reports -

prepared

and released on the Palo Verde ••iyalioo Oislrlcl Unit, Loww G...,.. Balin Unit,

McElmo Creek Unit, Uinta - Unit, and

Saine Waler Use and Disposal

Opporlarilles.

Draft cooduding reports - prepared on

the lJIVertcin Springs and l.owet' ~ R' -Ufm.

ConltaC1S

we

re

awarded for feasibility

Slides

on

Big Sandy Rher and Price-San

Rat.el Rivers Units. Contract stud.es contirued

on

the~

Springs Unit and a wort< statement

was

prepared

on

the Dtrty DM1 Rher Unit

Grand V*'f Stage Two planning was initialed.

In the Meel<er Dome Unit area, all springs

and obselvation wells continue to show

decline of the water table alter plugging the Scoa. James, and Marland Wells. Monitoring

wil continue for at least 3 years.

-Colorado River

Water Quality Improvement Program

Schedule

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For questions concerning projects

discussed on this newletter. please contact the Public Affairs Office in the

Region responsible for that project.

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Bureau of Reclamahon

Lower Colorado Regional Office P.O. Box 427 Bouldern City, Nevada 89005

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Telephone: Commercial: FTS 598-7 420 702-293-8420

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Editor, SALINITY UPDATE, 0-1000

Colorado River Water Quality 011,ce Bureau of Reclamation

P.O. Box 25007

Denver Federal Center Denver, Colorado 80225

I

-Bureau of Reclamation

Upper Colorado Regional Office P.O. Box 11568

Telephone:

Commercial:

FTS 234-4180 303-234-4180

Sall Lake City, Utah 84147

Telephone:

Commercial:

FTS

588

-

5403

801-524

-

5403

For answers to general questions or

items you would like to see included in SALINITY UPDATE, wnte to:

PN104

PAER 10811.SM