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Steve Coffee @_stevecoffee

Director of International BD & Marketing, Produced Water Solutions | Advocate for Sustainability | President, @_producedwater | Future of Water Treatment

Joined September 2021
  • Posts 1,690
  • Following 144
  • Followers 692
117 Photos and videos
The technology is ready, the data is clear, and the future of the American economy and water security is happening right now in West Texas. We've still got a long way to go, but the needle is moving. Great reporting here by Bethany Blankley.
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By transforming a massive disposal challenge (like produced water) into a high-value, scalable resource, we are setting a new standard for how a circular water economy can operate in the real world. It’s time for the broader industrial sector to take the same advice.
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This is a milestone for regional water security as well as a huge step forward into the future of a circular water economy. The extensive data collected here tells us that we can safely recycle this water for major industrial needs like cooling and irrigation.
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The second produced water treatment pilot (JIP 2) is officially online in the Permian! Led by Western Midstream and major industry collaborators, this facility is turning a massive oilfield waste stream into 1k barrels a day of reclaimed freshwater. thecentersquare.com/texas/ar…

Second produced water treatment pilot facility online in Permian Basin

(The Center Square) – The second produced water treatment pilot facility (JIP 2) is online in the Permian Basin in west Texas.

thecentersquare.com
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Innovation is great, but shifting the environmental burden to the power grid is far from a "solution." If tech giants want to reduce their water footprint, they need to stop looking for on-paper engineering fixes and start looking towards scalable and sustainable water recycling.
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Plus, upgrading global infrastructure like this will take decades, and history shows that making tech more energy efficient usually just makes people build more of it, which isn't the answer here, either.
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It’s an incredible milestone, but this is far from a PR victory lap. As Amy Harder points out, even if you stop using water to cool data centers, you aren’t fixing the bigger picture. Generating the electricity AI demands still requires huge amounts of water at the power plant.
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Nvidia’s chief sustainability officer just claimed they've solved the AI water problem. Quite frankly, I don't buy it. Here, they highlight that proprietary 113°F liquid-cooled systems can eliminate massive, water-guzzling processes almost altogether. axios.com/2026/06/22/nvidia-…

Nvidia says AI's water challenge is largely solved

It's a bold claim with high stakes given the scrutiny of data centers.

axios.com
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With an impending water crisis, deep-well disposal is no longer our only path forward. The technology is here today to make a circular water economy work. We now just have to get the regulatory guidelines right to keep environmental safety at the front of the conversation.
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State regulators are currently setting up the rules to allow produced water to be used in agriculture and industrial infrastructure. In short, this new circular water economy is going to support the future of data centers, the future of AI, and the future of the American economy.
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Just like I said the other day, we don't need sci-fi ideas to solve our energy demands. The solutions are right here on Earth. Look at what's happening in Texas right now. texastribune.org/2026/06/12/…

Texas to set rules for using treated fracking water on farms

The state’s environmental regulator will hold a public hearing June 15 on its proposed rules for how the toxic wastewater can be reused. Here’s what you should know.

texastribune.org
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Building a circular water economy is a real, scalable solution to the infrastructure and resource pressures we face today. So, let's keep our feet on the ground and focus on the fix right in front of us.
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We can't rely on space-bound science fiction to fix today's energy crisis. If we want to build a sustainable future for data centers, we have to solve the problem down here on the ground.
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There is a lot of buzz about 'data centers in space' as a way to escape land, power, and water constraints on Earth. But as authors Sven Bilén and Wangda Zuo point out, this idea is probably closer to a fun sci-fi plot than a reality in 2026. theconversation.com/building…

Building data centers in space is an intriguing idea on paper, but major engineering challenges...

A data center could get more solar power and be kept much colder in space, but it would be extremely difficult to repair and update.

theconversation.com
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To power the future of this industry sustainably, we must continue to treat data center infrastructure as a natural resource management challenge, letting innovation lead us towards a circular water economy.
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As industrial water demands continue to skyrocket, we must continue to look for alternative resource solutions like produced water.
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As the UNU report here notes, "low-carbon" doesn't necessarily mean "low-water." This poses a tremendous challenge for regional and national infrastructures.
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75% of all data center water consumption actually happens off-site. And it's linked directly to power generation and the manufacturing of the very hardware needed to run these facilities. axios.com/2026/06/05/data-ce…

New reports give sobering numbers on data centers' resource needs

They show how many different kinds of impact data centers can have.

axios.com
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This is going to be an exciting yet equally critical space to watch in the months ahead. But the most important thing right now is building rigorous regulatory frameworks that protect public health, all while helping the energy sector safely & sustainably innovate at scale.
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As the TCEQ continues to develop & expand SB 1145, the Lone Star State is taking a major step forward towards a circular water economy. The potential here, as we all know, is too significant to ignore. However, this isn't something that can be rushed. sierraclub.org/texas/blog/20…

Texas Is Considering Reusing Oilfield Wastewater: What Texans Need to Know and How to Get Involved

Produced water is wastewater generated during oil and gas operations. Texas leads the nation in oil and gas production, with an estimated 20-25 million barrels (up to 1 billion gallons) of produced...

sierraclub.org
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