Saltwater Waste and Landscape Change, Smackover Field, Arkansas

Abstract

The most enduring legacy of inadequate waste management in old hydrocarbon fields is the extensive saltwater‐scarred landscapes present in many of these areas. The features may be prominent for decades after saltwater disposal. The extent and natural healing of saltwater‐modified landscapes vary based on several factors, including the saltwater volumes that were disposed, the method of surface disposal, climate and rainfall, surface topography, soil types, and vegetation types. The Norphlet district of Smackover Field, Arkansas, is an outstanding example of long‐term saltwater disposal onto the ground. Saltwater damage was studied by digitizing scar distribution from 1936 and 1996 aerial photography, mapping saltwater production patterns, and observing modern landscape features in different stages of recovery. The most prominent and long‐term saltwater scars are present in intermittent creeks away from the Smackover Creek floodplain. Scars on the floodplain are either more broad because of the poor drainage of polluted water or have healed more rapidly because of the flushing effect of nearby perennial streams. Creek scars in 1996 aerial photography and in the field are in different stages of recovery. Drainage scars are dominated by either salt‐resistant vegetation or the absence of any vegetation. A few areas have recovered completely with the return of trees to the creek banks. Lease pits used for saltwater storage also remain as prominent features, but they, too, have healed and disappeared over the decades.