Mapping Brackish Aquifers: Future Water Resources

Texas can be a land of meteorological extremes. Drought one year, flash flooding the next. In response to the “Drought of Record” in the 1950s, the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) was born. Tasked with writing the State Water Plan every 5 years, this state agency estimates water supply and demands 50 years into the future. It then helps regional water entities create strategies for meeting potential water deficits. One of the strategies is the desalination of brackish groundwater. Though a few famous wells from Texas history were brackish, there is a much to learn about this resource which was often viewed as undesirable and avoided. The Brackish Resource Aquifer Characterization System (BRACS) at the TWDB is mapping brackish aquifers in the state to provide a foundational knowledge of the resource. One of the challenges of mapping brackish groundwater is the lack of water quality data in the deeper and more saline portions of the aquifers. To help fill this data gap, BRACS uses geophysical well logs to calculate interpreted water quality values. Since 2009, the BRACS program has amassed a database of more than 60,000 well locations that have an assortment of attributes including stratigraphic picks, lithologic descriptions, water quality, aquifer tests, and geophysical logs, 5 published reports, and 3 contracted reports. Per a state legislated mandate, the brackish groundwater in all 30 major and minor Texas aquifers will be evaluated by December of 2022. Current and completed studies are posted on our website, along with finished reports and data.