Water Use and Availability

USGS Texas Water Science Center scientists are evaluating potential changes in the hydrologic budget, specifically evapotranspiration, as a result of brush management (applied to huisache) as a conservation practice.

USGS is undertaking a 5-year study to assess groundwater availability for the aquifers proximal to the Gulf of Mexico from the Texas-Mexico border through the panhandle of Florida, known as the Coastal Lowlands Aquifer System (CLAS). This study is one of several within the Regional Groundwater Availability Studies of the USGS Water Availability and Use Science Program .

Evapotranspiration is the evaporation of water from plant leaves and the ground surface and is an important component of a water budget. The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) monitors evapotranspiration rates to evaluate how changes in land cover and soil moisture content may change water budgets. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.

The USGS Oklahoma-Texas Water Science Center (OTWSC) has studies looking at the occurrence and impact of invasive species in Oklahoma and Texas. Visit the links below for more information on our data and science.

Woody vegetation, including ashe juniper ( Juniperus ashei ), has encroached on areas in central Texas that were historically oak grassland savannah. Encroachment of woody vegetation is generally attributed to overgrazing and fire suppression. Removing ashe juniper and allowing native grasses to reestablish in the area as a brush management conservation practice might change the hydrology in the...