Abstract
Groundwater Modeling on the Cutting Edge
Track: Water Resources
Author(s): Ahmed Abukhater
Decisions pertaining to the desired future conditions of groundwater availability are highly contingent upon the involvement of affected and interested stakeholders. This suggests the need to rely on tools that deliver clear maps and accurate outputs and allow non-technical users to interact with the model and foster their involvement and contribution in the decision-making process. This paper presents a relevant case study of the Trinity Hill Country Aquifer of Texas. Under different scenarios, any changes in model input (recharge and discharge) cause respective changes in the output (groundwater availability). To evaluate long and short-term impacts of different scenarios on aquifer performance during non-drought and drought periods, a sensitivity analysis is warranted. Different zones representing municipal areas, county boundaries, and expected growth corridors are delineated using GIS tools. This project sparks a vexing concern of how to apply the model on a larger spatial scale to monitor broader significant regional impacts.
Ahmed Abukhater
University of Texas at Austin
8225 N FM 620 APT 636
Austin , Texas 78726
United States
Phone: 512-420-2624
E-mail: abukhater@mail.utexas.edu