Kennecott Copper: Water Use

Water Use

In the arid west, where Utah is the nation’s second driest state, water is perhaps our most precious natural resource.

Throughout Kennecott’s operations, and in the surrounding Oquirrh Mountains, rain water and snow melt are captured and diverted around the facilities to avoid contact with mining or processing plants. Water in the operations is treated and recycled over and over again. Throughout our operations we recycle about 50 percent of our water needs – roughly 30,000 gallons per minute – to minimize using additional water resources.

Kennecott manages its water resources to ensure efficient, safe and sustainable use and to protect water resources in and around its operations. Kennecott’s approaches to align day-to-day production with long-term planning includes:

Minimizing the amount of new, clean water required for copper production operations by recycling used water several times over.
Striving to maintain the best water quality possible (chemically and biologically) when our water is returned to the environment.
Continuously seeking opportunities to more efficiently use our water.
Separating waters of different quality to optimize the best use.

Groundwater contaminated from more than 100 years of mining operations, much of which predates Kennecott’s involvement in the Oquirrh Mountains, is being cleaned up with Kennecott’s help and funding. The system is designed to stop and contain contaminated groundwater and clean up the aquifer.

The affected groundwater will be cleaned up in two ways. The more heavily contaminated water will be extracted by wells, treated, and recycled for industrial use at Kennecott. Other water will be extracted and treated to drinking water standards using a desalinization process called Reverse Osmosis.

Protecting Precious Water Resources

Kennecott is committed to doing what we can to keep the environment and our water resources clean.

Watch a one minute video about protecting water resources.