The Pecos River in southern New Mexico faces mounting environmental pressures from extensive oil and gas development in the Permian Basin, according to observations by environmental monitors and industry watchdogs. Charlie Barrett, a thermographer with Oilfield Witness, documents emissions and waste-related concerns along the waterway, which flows for more than 500 miles from the state’s highest mountains to its lowest point near the Texas border.
One of the primary concerns involves produced water — a highly saline and toxic byproduct of oil and gas extraction that contains petroleum compounds, oilfield chemicals, and potentially radioactive material. In New Mexico’s oil and gas operations, more than three barrels of wastewater are generated for every barrel of oil extracted on average. Since state regulations prohibit the use of produced water outside the oilfield, a separate industry has developed to transport and reinject this waste deep underground, a process that has contributed to increased seismic activity in the region and catastrophic failures of injection wells.
Barrett’s thermal imaging work has also revealed ongoing violations of New Mexico’s 2022 flaring ban, which prohibits the burning of natural gas at well sites. During a single documentation session, he recorded four active flares near residential areas, producing carbon dioxide and other volatile organic compounds. Additionally, observers have documented salt deposits and suspected produced water spills along roads and riverbanks near the Pecos, indicating potential contamination events.
The river’s environmental challenges are compounded by climate factors. U.S. Geological Survey data spanning nearly four decades shows declining annual snowpack in the mountains where the Pecos originates, contributing to reduced river flow. As climate change increasingly dries New Mexico, the river’s water levels continue to decline at a critical time when its flows support agricultural operations across the state’s center. The American Rivers environmental organization has twice designated the Pecos as one of the country’s most endangered rivers, citing both the river itself and broader pressures from the surrounding Permian Basin development.
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