
Managing Our Water Resources
Water is important to our operations, and we work diligently to avoid leaks and spills that impact water resources. While Equitrans has three business segments, gathering, transmission, and water services, water withdrawals can be separated into two categories. Water is used for construction, operation, and maintenance of our midstream natural gas gathering and transmission businesses. In addition, Equitrans withdraws and delivers water to our customers in the upstream natural gas sector, as part of the water segment of our business.
Although our water consumption is relatively low for our gathering and transmission businesses, as compared to other operations in the energy or manufacturing sectors, we recognize the importance of preserving this essential resource, regardless of how much or where we withdraw and/or discharge. All water withdrawals and discharges for the Company occur within the Mississippi River Basin, more specifically in our operating areas of Pennsylvania, Ohio, and West Virginia, which provides greater access to and availability of water compared to other areas of the country. According to the World Resources Institute’s Aqueduct Water Risk Atlas, all of Equitrans’ operating areas are in a low or medium water depletion area, and the majority of the operating areas are in a low or medium water stress area.
The Company operates less than eight miles, or less than 1%, of our total gathering and transmission pipeline miles within a high water stress area, and there are no natural gas facilities, such as compressor stations, located in these areas. Additionally, none of Equitrans' water pipelines or impoundments are situated within any high water stress area, and we have not caused any unpermitted water discharges along Equitrans' natural gas pipelines in this region. As part of our overall focus on minimizing impacts to local water resources, Equitrans takes the issue of water stress areas seriously.
While gas operations represent the majority of the Company’s operating revenues, the gathering and transmission segments represent a very small portion of our overall water usage and withdrawals. Water is used for a variety of purposes during Equitrans’ day-to-day gas gathering and transmission and storage operations, including for various maintenance, construction, pipeline operation, and compressor station activities. The two most common water uses at compressor stations are cooler fan cleaning and dehydrator flushing, for which the majority of water is obtained from a third party that provides potable water. Water used during cooler cleaning is evaluated after use to determine proper disposal requirements, and is allowed to infiltrate into pervious ground areas where allowed by regulation. Water used to flush the dehydrator lines may interact with impurities or other chemicals and is collected in on-site produced fluid tanks before being transported to a third party for processing and disposal. For both of these activities, there is minimal water consumption expected and the amount of water withdrawn is similar to the amount of water discharged. Water utilized for gas storage operations, such as plug and abandonment operations and other well maintenance activities, is obtained from and disposed by a third party.

The largest source of water withdrawn and discharged for gas operations is used by the construction team for hydrostatic testing and land restoration efforts. Hydrostatic testing of pipelines is performed using fresh water supplied by a third party, and no chemicals or other materials are added to the water during hydrostatic testing. Following the testing, the water is either directed back to the environment or is hauled away by a third-party for disposal. When discharging hydrotesting water to the ground, Equitrans acquires any applicable state-regulated discharge permit and completes the discharge in accordance with the permit. For restoration activities, water from third-party or municipal sources is used to apply materials to restore vegetation and protect land areas. For both activities, little water is consumed and it is generally returned to the same basin where it was obtained.
The water business segment transports water to upstream natural gas customers for their use in gas drilling and production activities and represents the majority of the Company’s water withdrawals and discharges. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s fresh water system included approximately 200 miles of pipeline and 23 fresh water impoundment facilities, which are concentrated in southwestern PA and southeastern OH. The water is withdrawn from the Monongahela River, Ohio River, local reservoirs, regional waterways, and municipal sources. In certain cases, withdrawal permits must be obtained before withdrawing water from surface waters. The amount withdrawn is continuously tracked using water flow meters, and throughputs are reviewed and compared to permit limits on a monthly basis. Water brought into the pipeline system can be temporarily held in impoundments until delivered to customers. As water is withdrawn to deliver to other companies, it is not consumed by Equitrans. Our customers are responsible for obtaining any necessary environmental permits or approvals for the production activity for which they use the water.
During 2021, the Company began construction of a mixed-use water system in Greene County, Pennsylvania to transport produced recycled water. As of the date of this report, the system is targeted for a partial in-service in 2022, with the majority of the system targeted for a 2023 in-service. The mixed-use water system is designed to include 71 miles of buried water pipeline, two water storage facilities with 350,000 barrels of capacity, and two interconnects with the Company’s existing Pennsylvania fresh water systems and will provide services to producers in southwestern Pennsylvania. As of December 31, 2021, the Company’s mixed-use water system included approximately eight miles of buried pipeline.
The environmental department manages permitting and regulatory activities related to Equitrans’ water management activities and provides assurance for compliance with all required regulations and guidelines. During the construction phase, our Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plan outlines how the water and related water activities will be managed. When using water for our operations, Equitrans works to comply with all water discharge requirements, including National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System permits and effluent limitations. Equitrans does not operate wastewater treatment facilities and does not treat any water used in operations, other than using filters and devices to remove sediment from waters as required by permits.
Equitrans installs sufficient secondary containment for hydrocarbons or other potential water pollutants to prevent those materials from impacting water sources in accordance with federal, state, and local requirements. Further, the Company maintains a Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasure Plan for sites where hydrocarbon storage quantities exceed thresholds specified in regulations. When there is an unexpected incident, such as a water pipeline break, our standard practice is to follow the same spill response procedures as outlined in the Biodiversity and Public Safety & Emergency Response sections of this report. To improve transparency, Equitrans publishes its environmental notices of violation on its website.

Evaluating Our Approach to Water Management
Equitrans completed the first Companywide water inventory for its usage during calendar year 2021 and is reporting water management information for the first time in this report. Going forward, we are working to improve and acquire additional water management data to provide additional detail and transparency in future disclosures.
While the revenue from the water services segment of our business is small compared to revenue from our natural gas gathering, transmission, and storage services, it is a key element when reviewing our water impacts. Our water services are directly linked to our customers’ well completion activities and operations, and their related fresh and produced water demands. As a result, our water operating results traditionally fluctuate from year to year in response to producers' well completion activities.
Water flow meters are used to monitor the quantity of water extracted from surface water and municipal sources and for monitoring the quantity of water delivered to customers. For sources of water that Equitrans pays a fee, a second audit meter is used to verify the flow meters' readings. Because impoundments are utilized as storage sites, where water is kept until it is returned to the pipeline and distributed to customers, they are considered to be within the Company's boundary. Water entering and leaving storage sites is not recorded as a withdrawal or discharge. There is no consumption expected for the water services business segment as all water withdrawn is intended to be transported and delivered to customers.
In 2021, the water services segment of our business withdrew approximately 1,119 million gallons of water, with none of the withdrawals coming from water-stressed areas, and discharged approximately 1,121 million gallons of water. The total discharges consist of all water delivered to customers and include estimates regarding reported spills and any water drained from impoundments for use by a third party. During 2021, the quantity of water discharged exceeded the amount of water taken in. The reason for the excess discharges is partially due to two factors: water being stored at impoundments in early 2021 was delivered to customers throughout the year, and one water impoundment was drained for maintenance activities in the fourth quarter. Water consumption for the water services business is not measured; however, water consumption is calculated by subtracting discharges from withdrawals. Since water discharges exceeded withdrawals in 2021, our water segment consumption is being reported as zero gallons. In addition to freshwater, Equitrans transported produced water in our existing water pipeline network for one customer’s well pad operations, the amount of which is included in our withdrawal and discharge data calculations.
2021 Water Withdrawals by Source1
|
Water Segment Withdrawals (gallons)
|
Gas Operations Withdrawals (gallons) |
Surface Water
|
519,281,034
|
138,000 |
Groundwater
|
0
|
1,400 |
Third-party Sources2
|
531,860,744
|
4,053,511 |
Total Freshwater Withdrawals
|
1,051,141,778
|
4,192,911 |
Produced Water
|
67,946,632
|
0 |
Total Water Withdrawals3 |
1,119,088,411 |
4,192,911 |
2021 Water Discharges by Source1
|
Water Segment Discharges (gallons)
|
Gas Operations Discharges (gallons) |
Surface Water
|
343,182
|
0 |
Groundwater
|
12,101
|
2,485,500 |
Third-party Sources (freshwater)
|
1,052,264,036
|
1,570,270 |
Total Freshwater Discharges
|
1,052,619,319
|
4,055,771 |
Third-party Sources (produced water)
|
67,946,632
|
0 |
Total Water Withdrawals2 |
1,120,565,951 |
4,055,771 |
2021 Water Consumption1
|
Water Segment Consumption (gallons)
|
Gas Operations Consumption (gallons) |
Total Water Consumption2
|
0
|
119,269 |