AQUIFER STORAGE AND RECOVERY POTENTIALS AT LOWER RIO GRANDE VALLEY: SUBSURFACE 3D VISUALIZATION AND DATA ANALYSIS OF SOUTHERN GULF COAST AQUIFER

Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), Texas, a region often experiences long droughts and intense storms, is estimated to increase use of groundwater in response to municipal needs and economic growth. There is a strong interest in seeking for more supplemental and reliable water supply in addition to surface water source, i.e., Rio Grande. Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is a process of storing excess water in a suitable aquifer through wells (single or multi-well system) and recovering the water when needed. Unlike other coastal regions with high water demands such as Florida and California, ASR is an alternative water resource management that has not yet been implemented in LRGV. This study aims evaluate the hydrogeological components and potential conjunctive water resource management with ASR using MODFLOW simulations. Preliminary results and data analysis will be presented using available datasets, which includes visualization of subsurface 3D model, statistics of hydraulic properties of aquifer systems, potential site locations and depths for ASR.