Linzy Foster
Linzy is a civil engineer in the Texas Water Science Center. Her research interests include groundwater modeling and the application of uncertainty quantification to models.
Biography
Linzy Foster is a Civil Engineer (Hydrologist) with the USGS in Austin Texas. She joined the Texas Water Science Center in 2012. She previously worked in Fort Lauderdale, Florida for the Florida Water Science Center from 2007-2012. Her research interests include groundwater and contaminant-transport modeling, saltwater intrusion modeling, application of uncertainty quantification techniques to models, and python code development.
Education
M.S. in Civil Engineering, focus on Environmental Engineering, Auburn University, 2008
B.A. in Mathematics, Maryville College, 2000
Employment
2005-2007 Graduate Assistant, Auburn University
2007-2012 U.S. Geological Survey, Florida Water Science Center, Fort Lauderdale, FL
2012-active U.S. Geological Survey, Texas Water Science Center, Austin, Texas
Science and Products
Estimating Potential Effects on Streamflow from Nearby Wells in the Lower San Antonio River Basin
The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) developed a groundwater-flow model to estimate the potential for streamflow depletion in the Lower San Antonio River based on changes in groundwater pumping in the watershed. Results from the project can be used by the San Antonio River Authority (SARA) to better understand aquifer interactions with the river and potential groundwater pumping effects...
Edwards Aquifer Groundwater Model Uncertainty Analysis
USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) is undertaking a 1.5-year study to assess parameter and predictive uncertainty in the Edwards Aquifer Authority MODFLOW Model using both linear and non-linear techniques. The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) uses two models simulating the periods from 2001 to 2015 (verification model) and the drought of record of 1947-1958 (drought of record model).
Coastal Lowlands Regional Groundwater Availability Study
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 ...
Water Budget Science in Texas
A water budget is an accounting of hydrologic components of the water cycle, transfers between the components, and their relative contributions within a water system. Water budgets help define how much water is available, how much water is used, where the water comes from, and at what rate water is replenished or consumed. In its simplest form, a water budget defines the amount of water...
Modeling Science in Texas
Models provide the capability to simulate scenarios of possible future conditions and management options to help water-resource professionals with planning decisions. Groundwater models are commonly used to evaluate changes to the water budget of an aquifer resulting from land-use changes, water withdrawals, and climate, and how these changes affect streamflow, lake levels, water quality, and...
Edwards Aquifer Studies in Texas
The Edwards aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most productive aquifers in the Nation and is the primary source of water for the rapidly growing San Antonio area. Springs issuing from the Edwards aquifer provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, serve as locations for recreational activities, and supply downstream users.
The USGS Texas Water Science Center...
New insights into the Edwards Aquifer—Brackish-water simulation, drought, and the role of uncertainty analysis
The Edwards aquifer is an important water resource in south-central Texas, providing water for residents, businesses, and ecosystems. The aquifer is a highly complex karst system characterized by areas of rapid groundwater flow, faulted and fractured Cretaceous-age rocks, and multiple water-quality zones. Karst aquifer systems include soluble...
Foster, Linzy K.; White, Jeremy T.Updated numerical model with uncertainty assessment of 1950-56 drought conditions on brackish-water movement within the Edwards aquifer, San Antonio, Texas
In 2010, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, began a study to assess the brackish-water movement within the Edwards aquifer (more specifically the potential for brackish-water encroachment into wells near the interface between the freshwater and brackish-water transition zones, referred to in this report...
Brakefield, Linzy K.; White, Jeremy T.; Houston, Natalie A.; Thomas, Jonathan V.Estimation of capture zones and drawdown at the Northwest and West Well Fields, Miami-Dade County, Florida, using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis: recent (2004) and proposed conditions
Travel-time capture zones and drawdown for two production well fields, used for drinking-water supply in Miami-Dade County, southeastern Florida, were delineated by the U.S Geological Survey using an unconstrained Monte Carlo analysis. The well fields, designed to supply a combined total of approximately 250 million gallons of water per day, pump...
Brakefield, Linzy K.; Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Chartier, KevinEffect of hypersaline cooling canals on aquifer salinization
The combined effect of salinity and temperature on density-driven convection was evaluated in this study for a large (28 km2) cooling canal system (CCS) at a thermoelectric power plant in south Florida, USA. A two-dimensional cross-section model was used to evaluate the effects of hydraulic heterogeneities, cooling canal salinity, heat...
Hughes, Joseph D.; Langevin, Christian D.; Brakefield-Goswami, Linzy