Geoysynthetics August/September 2023 - 29

Best practices-Working
toward zero leaks
The importance of conducting leak location surveys
in containment applications
By Jimmy Youngblood
T
he Uinta Basin in northeast Utah is known for its extensive
in-place oil shale resource. Because this area produces crude
with low containment levels, it contributes to the production of
fuels that are compliant with the most rigorous environmental
standards. When XCL Resources was tasked with building a
produced process water pond for development and production of
oil and gas in this region, a containment solution that fit within
the company's commitment to innovation and environmental
stewardship was required.
Produced process water occurs during the extraction of oil
and natural gas. It is generally brackish and may contain trace
amounts of chemicals. The produced process water ponds are
used for containment after a water treatment process. The Utah
Department of Natural Resources (DNR) regulators stipulated
that the 9-acre (3.6-h) pond must have zero leakage into the
subgrade and provide a system to protect migratory birds from
the process water. To achieve this stringent expectation, XCL
chose to use the GSE Leak Location Suite by Solmax for the
pond 11's containment system to enhance electric leak location
survey (ELLS) capabilities. ELLS is a field-proven technology
and currently the only economically practiced method of locating
leaks in installed geomembranes both before and after water
or soil placement on the geomembrane. Various ELLS methods
are available, but all operate on the principle that geomembranes
are electrically isolative. Thus, when electricity is applied to the
surface of the geomembrane and grounded to the layer beneath
it, the path of electricity can be directly traced through any leaks
present in the geomembrane. A challenge for these surveys is the
conductivity of the material underneath the geomembrane, such
as gravel, sand and drainage net as well as the air voids that can
exist underneath wrinkles.
PROJECT HIGHLIGHTS
UTAH PROCESS POND CONTAINMENT
OWNER
XCL Resources
LOCATION
Uinta Basin, Utah
CONTRACTOR
ACES Energy Solutions LLC
CONSTRUCTION COMPANY
International Lining Technology
GEO PRODUCTS
GSE White HDPE 60 mil Geomembrane
(conductive, textured)
FABRINET 200 mil geonet
GSE White HD 60 mil Geomembrane
(conductive, smooth)
4BENTOLINER BR Geosynthetic Clay Liner (GCL)
GSE HDPE 40 mil black geomembrane
(non-conductive, smooth)
GEO MANUFACTURER
Solmax
Jimmy Youngblood is the director of products and
application development for the environmental
infrastructure group at Solmax. He has been involved
in the geosynthetics industry for 29 years with various
responsibilities throughout the organization. He was
the global geosynthetics manager for Solmax before
switching to his current role to strategically position
current products and innovate new products and
services for Solmax on the environmental side.
All figures courtesy of Solmax
GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
29
http://www.GeosyntheticsMagazine.com
Geoysynthetics August/September 2023

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