Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin has revealed a new idea to save water—and reduce earthquakes. Member station KGOU reports that Fallin has announced a new panel called the “Water for 2060 Produced Water Working Group.” The idea is to find ways to meet the state’s goal of using less freshwater in 2060 than was used in 2010.
Fallin added that she’s equally interested in looking at alternatives to deep well disposal of water. The governor hopes the committee can find another method of disposing of this wastewater, which is believed to trigger earthquakes. Fallin’s new proposal is something of a turnaround. In the past, she neglected to acknowledge the oil and gas industry’s complicity in the state’s recent spate of earthquakes.
Fallin also proposed some ways wastewater could be reused, including crop irrigation and industrial use.