Conserve, reuse and recycle

Water is an essential resource for the health, social and economic well-being of our communities, as well as for Devon’s operations. To be a good neighbor and an environmentally sound operator, Devon is committed to conserving freshwater and reusing water in our operations.

We require reliable access to water used or produced in our drilling and completions operations, and the ability to safely dispose of it. Our water management strategy seeks to balance environmental, economic, operational and social needs, and to mitigate physical risks associated with regional water stress. We have a track record for water conservation that goes back to recycling water in the Barnett Shale in north Texas starting in 2004. Since then, we’ve collaborated with government, industry and community stakeholders to find innovative ways to conserve water in our drilling and completions activities across the company.

Every gallon of produced, non-potable or recycled-brackish water Devon uses in our operations reduces our consumption of freshwater. We work to identify and develop alternative sources of water for operational activities and have invested significant capital to reduce our reliance on freshwater. Using less freshwater also reduces the amount of water for disposal, saves money, creates efficiencies and improves our ability to respond if water availability or disposal capacity is constrained. To conserve, we strive to use water that is not suitable for drinking and other public uses and, wherever possible, we use recycled produced water in our drilling and production activities. We take these actions because they’re the right thing to do for the environment and our communities.

Local approach to water management

Water supplies are limited in some of Devon’s operating areas. We conserve, reuse and recycle as much water as we can to mitigate the physical risks of water stress.

We consider water availability and disposal options in our enterprise risk management process and in our daily planning, along with other environmental, health and safety (EHS) risks. Devon’s EHS Council, Sustainability team and subject matter experts monitor laws, regulations and stakeholder concerns related to water and keep our leadership team well informed on our risks and opportunities.

Guided by our EHS Philosophy, we use economically and operationally feasible alternatives to freshwater. To execute a sustainable water management strategy, Devon follows the water principles of stakeholder engagement, water management planning, technology evaluation and deployment, and best practices development.

Our business unit leaders and subject matter experts oversee our local water management activities, based on their deep understanding of local water issues, challenges and opportunities. As part of our local approach to water management, our teams consider the availability and quality of water, local ecosystems, habitats, regulations and other factors. Devon’s water planning efforts also include evaluating the potential risks to our operations in each area, stakeholder needs and potential opportunities for our business. We update our water plans periodically to account for business needs and local environmental considerations.

To enhance our water management capabilities, Devon stays abreast of new technologies and best practices, often through collaboration to advance the science. As an active participant in the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, we supplied water samples from our desalination pilot project to the consortium in 2024 and are anticipating the group’s peer-reviewed research on this testing program. We’re also involved in the Texas Water Consortium and New Mexico Oil and Gas Association (NMOGA) efforts around produced water and state water regulations.

Devon continues to study, communicate and improve lifecycle water use and management together with other oil and natural gas companies that share our commitment to conservation. As part of evaluating ways to diversify and complement our core business, we’re looking at opportunities for produced water management and beneficial reuse of produced water.

Reducing freshwater use in the Delaware Basin

As the first company to recycle flowback and produced water in natural gas wells in north Texas, Devon is an industry pioneer in recycling. We became one of the leading recyclers of treated produced water in New Mexico and led the effort to establish state rules to encourage the practice. Our recycling efforts are now concentrated in the New Mexico Delaware Basin, where we have our highest level of activity and water scarcity is an issue.

Devon uses freshwater in the Delaware Basin only for blending and only when we don’t have sufficient sources of recycled and brackish water.

Companywide, Devon’s total water consumption increased to 161 million barrels in 2024, up 7% from 2023. Our recycled water use also increased. We used nearly 95 million barrels of recycled water in our operations in 2024, up 14% from 83 million barrels in 2023 - meaning that 59% of the water we used in our drilling and completions operations was reused water. Since 2015, Devon has reused over 400 million barrels of water from our water treatment facilities.


We’ve taken our water conservation commitment a step further by setting a public target to use 90% or more non-freshwater for completions activities in our most active operating areas within the Delaware Basin.

To increase the volume of recycled water available for operations, we focus on four areas:

  • Reducing the cost to dispose of produced water and to source water for development.
  • Assuring we have the water needed to execute our development plans, as well as the capacity and space needed to remove production water from the field.
  • Reducing our brackish and freshwater needs by better planning for completions fluids.
  • Active efforts are under way to investigate and develop technologies for continuous improvement in our capabilities for planning water production, use and disposal.

In addition, Devon continues to seek water sharing agreements with stakeholders. We collaborate with other oil and gas operators and water midstream companies on infrastructure, both through formal discussions and one-off opportunities. We have pipeline connections with midstream providers and share our long-range plans with them to help expedite cooperation and commercial activities.

Impoundment basins we built in the Delaware Basin to store reusable water are integral to our operations and to saving water. The basins are connected by a local pipeline network that reduces the need to haul water away by truck. Taking water trucks off the road has the added benefit of reducing emissions and traffic safety hazards.

In addition, we’re looking for cost-effective ways to reuse produced water outside of the oil and gas industry. Through the New Mexico Produced Water Research Consortium, we’re exploring beneficial reuse opportunities, including technologies to desalinate produced water to make it suitable for industrial and agricultural uses. In 2024, we completed a one-month desalination pilot in the Delaware Basin that showed that we can produce high-quality, clean water. As a result, we’re progressing toward building a larger-scale commercial desalination unit to process the distillate and concentrated brine in our operations. The desalinated water would be sufficient to displace the minimal amount of freshwater we still use in the basin. This will require development of the regulatory framework for reusing desalinated produced water in oil and gas operations in New Mexico, which would allow us to continue testing the water for eventual use outside of our industry. This is why Devon continues to work with stakeholders to find water conservation solutions in New Mexico.

In Oklahoma’s Anadarko Basin, we provide Iofina Resources with access to our produced water to extract the iodine and return iodine-free produced water back to our operations. Iofina Resources is able to leverage our pipeline infrastructure to economically extract iodine at a time when prices for the mineral are high, while Devon reduces our waste and receives a royalty.

Devon continues to implement our water management strategy to achieve our goal of using 90% or more non-freshwater for completions activities in our most active operating areas in the Delaware Basin. To be a good neighbor, we’ll also keep exploring ways to conserve freshwater and increase our use of brackish, flowback and produced water in all of our operating areas.

Expanding our recycling capabilities

Our Powder River Basin asset started recycling in 2024 to reduce the need to use freshwater for completions and take advantage of our robust water infrastructure. The infrastructure includes freshwater and produced water pipelines that can be used interchangeably and a former saltwater disposal facility that serves as a primary recycling center. Devon purchased a water treatment skid, added a 5,000-barrel storage tank for untreated produced water and built recycled water storage pits with 1.5 million barrels of capacity. Freshwater is pumped from deep wells and transported by pipeline to the primary recycling facility for processing, including oil separation. The water undergoes chemical treatment and is then stored in the pits until it’s needed for completions.

The asset generated about 5.7 million barrels of produced water in 2024 and recycled and used almost all of it. In 2025, we’re expanding recycling capabilities in the northern part of the asset with a portable treatment skid and a greenfield project focused on recycling.

We’ll continue to optimize our Powder River pipeline network to move water throughout the asset and increase pumping capacity at the central treatment facility. We believe reusing the water in our operations is more responsible than disposing of it in wells where it can no longer be used.