MEETING NOTES: Cawelo adds another oilfield "produced water" project

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Meeting: Cawelo Water District board of directors

Date: September 11, 2025

Main Topic: New Produced Water Project

The Cawelo Water District is working on a new “produced water” project to increase its irrigation supplies. Produced water is water that comes up with oil during pumping. The district has used oilfield produced water blended with other surface supplies for irrigation for about two decades.

Discussion about the new project began in early August. The project is expected to be completed in early 2026. Construction was pushed back due to a delay in biological studies but is expected to start at the end of this month.

A board member asked if there would be any issues that could arise with the biological studies.

David Ansolabehere, general manager for the district, said he did not expect any. He was confident that the project should be finished by the end of the year.

The district received 1,689 acre feet per month of produced water from its existing project with Chevron. That amount year to date is 13,718 acre feet.

Cawelo also has a produced water project with California Resources Corporation (CRC) from its Bellaire field. It received 371 acre feet a month of produced water from CRC-Bellaire, and 2,912 acre feet for the year to date, according to the district.

How to attend: Cawelo Water District meets at 9 a.m. on the 2nd Thursday of each month at their district office located at 17207 Industrial Farm Road. You can also join online via Zoom