Dry Side Dispatch • September 11th • Katherine Coyle
We are proud to bring you our local radio show, The Dry Side Dispatch. All past episodoes of the radio show are available on the Sandhills Area Research Association You Tube channel. You can also listen live via the YouTube chanel on Friday's at Noon.
The Dry Side Dispatch is a West Texas radio show and media project from the Sandhills Area Research Association broadcast live on KRFE 95.9 FM. Hosted by Tillery Timmons-Sims, Andy Timmons, and Dusty Timmons, the program focuses on regional agriculture, land conservation, hunting, oil and gas, and local news
This episode of Dry Side Dispatch features Texas Tech PhD student Katherine Coyle discussing her research into whether treated “produced water” from oil and gas operations could eventually become a useful new water source for agriculture, rangeland restoration, or playa systems—not for human consumption. She explains how produced water is desalinated and polished, why disposal through underground injection has created concerns such as seismic activity and well blowouts, and how her research tests different treatment levels against West Texas soils.
Her laboratory work found that different treatment methods can significantly alter soil pH, nutrient availability, microbial activity, and the movement or accumulation of elements such as phosphorus and boron. The conversation emphasizes that highly treated water is not automatically harmless simply because it is “clean”; it may need to be remineralized or otherwise adjusted before agricultural use. The broader takeaway is that produced water shows promise, but more field trials and continued research are needed before it can be safely and reliably deployed at scale.
