Typically, 60% of the wastewater that is going to come to the surface will be produced within the first four days after the well is fractured. After that, the amount drops to 2-5% of the total for about 2 weeks.1Wells can and do produce
wastewater for longer than this, but the quantities are typically very low compared to this initial period. The
New York Department of Environmental Conservation (NY DEC) estimates that between 3,400 gallons and 400 gallons of wastewater will be produced per day, depending upon how long the well has been in production.The ratio of flowback
fluid to formation water changes over time, as well. The wastewater has a higher percentage of flowback water at first, which decreases over time until the wastewater flowing from the well is almost entirely formation water. See Figure 1.