Recharge Zones for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer

General Information: This is a GIS shapefile that delineates hydraulic conductivity and recharge zones for the Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer in central Texas, USA. The groundwater system is a karstic aquifer in a rapidly urbanizing portion of the City of Austin. The shapefile boundary aligns with a numerical groundwater simulation of the aquifer system with cells matching the active regions of the MODFLOW model. Zonation reflects 11 areas that are useful for integrated groundwater management and modelling. Use cases and further information: A numerical simulation (MODFLOW model) was developed for use as a groundwater availability model (GAM) in the State of Texas (Scanlon et al, 2003; Scanlon et al, 2001). The recharge zones were developed for Barton Springs GAM because it represents a baseline interpretation of groundwater behavior, the model is readily accessible. Zonation was originally completed so that a systems dynamics model of urban and land use conditions overlying the aquifer could be connected to a systems dynamics model as part of a Groundwater Decision Support System developed to assess the sustainable yield (Pierce et al, 2006; Pierce, 2006). The recharge zone files can be used to compare the decision relevance of scientific uncertainty by comparing groundwater response to variable pumping regimes across different recharge interpretations (Passarello et al, 2014; Passarello et al, 2012). Cited References: Passarello, MC, Pierce SA, Sharp, JM, 2014, Uncertainty and urban water recharge for managing groundwater availability using decision support, Water Science & Technology Journal, 70(11), doi:10.2166/wst.2014.437. Passarello, M., Pierce, S.A., Sharp, JM, 2012, Estimating Urban-Induced Artificial Recharge A Case Study for Austin, Texas, Environmental and Engineering Geoscience, 18 (1), p. 25-36. Pierce, S.A., Dulay, M.M., Sharp, J.M., Lowry, T.S., Tidwell, V.C., 2006, Defining tenable groundwater management: Integrating stakeholder preferences, distributed parameter models, and systems dynamics to aid groundwater resource allocation. MODFLOW and More. International Groundwater Modeling Center, Golden, Colorado. Pierce, S.A., 2006, Groundwater Decision Support: An integrated assessment linking causal narratives, numerical models, and combinatorial search techniques to determine available yield for an aquifer system, PhD thesis, Jackson School of Geosciences, Department of Geology, The University of Texas at Austin Scanlon, B.R., Mace, R.E., Barrett, M.E., Smith, B., 2003, Can we simulate regional groundwater flow in a karst system using equivalent porous media models? Case Study, Barton Springs Edwards aquifer, USA, Journal of Hydrology, v. 276, p. 137 – 158. Scanlon, B.R., Mace, R.E., Smith, B.A., Hovorka, S.D., Dutton, A.R., Reedy, R.C., 2001, Groundwater Availability of the Barton Springs Segment of the Edwards Aquifer, Texas – Numerical Simulations through 2050: The University of Texas at Austin, Bureau of Economic Geology, final report prepared for the Lower Colorado River Authority, under contract no. UTA99-0