think+water: Vista Ridge, aquifer storage and recovery in New Braunfels, and a rollercoaster of land deformation in the Delaware Basin of West Texas

This month, Dr. Robert E. Mace explores academic publications on the topics of analyzing the impact of the Vista Ridge project on water levels in Lee County, identifying water quality issues for aquifer storage and recovery projects, and examining how oil production and wastewater injection in the Delaware Basin lead to significant ground surface changes, including uplift, subsidence, and faulting.

outlook+water: Drought slightly decreases but expected to persist and expand, El Niño fading, and active hurricane season predicted

Drought conditions declined to 26% of the state (D1–D4); statewide reservoir storage rose to 77.5% full but still about seven percentage points below normal for this time of year. La Nada has an ~80% chance of arriving in April-May-June, with a 70% chance of La Niña in July-August-September. Drought is expected to remain and expand in the western half of the state, including most of the Hill Country.