How much water can be captured from flood flows to store in depleted aquifers for mitigating floods and droughts? A case study from Texas, US

Bibliographic Data

ID15553013
AuthorsQian Yang (0000-0001-8338-6241, Bureau of Economic Analysis, corresponding author), Bridget R Scanlon (0000-0002-1234-4199, The University of Texas at Austin)
Year2019
Volume14
Issue5
Pages054011-054011
Publication date2019-03-29
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueEnvironmental Research Letters (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1748-9326 • E-ISSN: 1748-9326
PublisherIOP Publishing (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1088/1748-9326/ab148e
OpenAlexW2932518218
LanguageEN
Citations received3
References cited36

Extreme flooding from Hurricane Harvey (∼100 km ^3 , ∼80 million acre feet, maf of rainfall) in Houston, Texas, US co-located with depleted aquifers raises the question of whether we can capture floodwater to reduce flooding impacts and replenish aquifers for droughts. Here we quantified how much water could be captured from high magnitude flows (HMFs) in 10 major rivers discharging to the Gulf of Mexico for potential storage in depleted aquifers along the Texas Gulf Coast. Results show that HMFs (≥95th percentile) from rivers discharging to the Gulf of Mexico total 37 km ^3 (30 maf) in 2015–2017, similar in capacity to US Lake Mead (32 km ^3 , 26 maf). These flows are less than modeled unappropriated flows that consider appropriated water rights and limited analysis suggests moderate reduction from environmental flows. Similarity in high flow volumes and modeled groundwater depletion in the Gulf Coast Aquifer system (∼25 km ^3 , 20 maf) underscores the potential to partially mitigate flooding using aquifer storage. Interim storage would be required to resolve disconnects between high flood intensities and low aquifer injection rates. Engineering approaches will become increasingly important to manage climate extremes

Aquifer · Flood myth · Flooding (psychology · Geography · Groundwater · Hydrology (agriculture · Water resource management · Environmental Science · Flood Risk Assessment and Management · Hydrology and Watershed Management Studies · Urban Stormwater Management Solutions · Geology