Headgate Subsurgace Drip Irrigation Project
Service provided: Dispersal of natural gas produced water
Customer: 
Location: Johnson County, Wyoming
Daily capacity: 17,500 barrels (3.2 ML) per day
Project start date: November 2008
Area developed: 232 acres (94 ha), 480 miles (770 km) drip tubing, 9.3 miles (15 km) pipeline, 20.25 acre feet (25 ML) pond capacity
Water quality: EC = 2 600 µS/cm, TDS 1 620 mg/L, SAR 38, Na 670 mg/L, HCO3 1790
Crops produced: alfalfa (lucerne), trefoil / grass mix (horse pasture)
The Headgate SDI system sets upon soil laid down at the confluence of Crazy Woman Creek and the Powder River. Changing tracks of the streambeds left a variable mix of soil types and patterns. Joint research to optimize development of such sites is being sponsored by The Department of Energy’s National Energy Technology Lab (NETL), Anadarko and BeneTerra with assistance from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) and Wyoming Dept. of Environmental Quality. The research will lead to better site characterization, design, construction and management of SDI systems.
The state of the art, remote-control pump station reflects innovations developed by the BeneTerra team in the Powder River Basin. The rancher sells hay while keeping some for his own use. One field is planted to a mix of trefoil and grasses for pasturing horses. At the completion of the project, the landowner began using the existing SDI system for freshwater irrigation.
