Sachin D Shah
Biography
Sachin has over 20 years of hydrology, policy, and international development experience with the U.S. Geological Survey, World Bank Water Program, Council of Energy-Environment-Water (CEEW), and the UN-Shell Water-Energy Nexus Initiative. Sachin serves as the Manager of the Social and Economic Drivers Program for the USGS Water Mission Area and as the hydrologic science and international lead as part of the Texas Water Science Center in Austin and previously as the USGS Gulf Coast Program Hydrologic Studies Chief in Houston, Texas.
Sachin works at the intersection of hydrology, socioeconomics, and technology to understand the human dimensions of water availability and risk. More information: LinkedIn
CAREER HISTORY
Current: Program Manager, Social and Economic Drivers Program, USGS Water Mission Area
2018-current, Lecturer on Water Security, University of Washington, Jackson School of International Studies, Seattle, WA
2018-2020, Hydrologist and International Lead, USGS Integrated Hydrology and Data Science Branch, Seattle, WA
2016-2018, Chief of Hydrologic Studies, USGS Texas Water Science Center Gulf Coast Program, Houston, TX
2013-2015 Energy-Water Nexus Program, UN-Shell Groundwater Initiative, Texas
2011-2013 The World Bank Water Program, India
2010-2012, Global Policy Fellow, Council on Energy Environment and Water, India
2001- 2009, Hydrologist, USGS Texas Water Science Center, Austin, TX
1999-2001, Hydrologist, USGS Georgia Water Science Center, Atlanta, GA
EDUCATION
M.A., International Development and Social Policy, University of Texas LBJ School of Public Affairs, Austin, TX
M.S., Hydrology and Water Resources, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA
B.S., Hydrogeology, University of Texas at Austin Jackson School of Geosciences, Austin, TX
Science and Products
Texas Gulf Coast Groundwater and Land Subsidence Program
The Texas Gulf Coast Groundwater and Land Subsidence Program web application illustrates how groundwater, sediment compaction, and land-elevation change are related in the Houston-Galveston region in Texas. The new app was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey Texas Water Science Center and is available at https://txpub.usgs...
Subsidence Science in Texas - Overview
The USGS Texas Water Science Center (TXWSC) has researched land-surface subsidence for more than 40 years. TXWSC collects and interprets groundwater level and aquifer sediment compaction data to understand the effects of groundwater withdrawal on land surface subsidence.
Hydrodynamic modeling results showing the effects of the Luce Bayou interbasin transfer on salinity in Lake Houston, TX
An overreliance on groundwater resources in the Houston (Texas) metropolitan area led to aquifer drawdowns and land subsidence, so regional water suppliers have been turning to surface water resources to meet water demand. Lake Houston, an important water supply reservoir 24 kilometers (15 miles) northeast of downtown Houston, requires new water...
Smith, Erik A.; Shah, Sachin D.
Status of groundwater-level altitudes and long-term groundwater-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas, 2019
Since the early 1900s, most of the groundwater withdrawals in the Houston-Galveston region, Texas, have been from the three primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers. Withdrawals from these aquifers are used for municipal supply, commercial and industrial use, and irrigation. This...
Braun, Christopher L.; Ramage, Jason K.; Shah, Sachin D.
Status of groundwater-level altitudes and long-term groundwater-level changes in the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers, Houston-Galveston region, Texas, 2018
Since the early 1900s, most of the groundwater withdrawals in the Houston-Galveston region, Texas, have been from the three primary aquifers that compose the Gulf Coast aquifer system—the Chicot, Evangeline, and Jasper aquifers. Withdrawals from these aquifers are used for municipal supply, industrial, and irrigation purposes. This report,...
Shah, Sachin D.; Ramage, Jason K.; Braun, Christopher L.
Geodatabase design and characteristics of geologic information for a geodatabase of selected wells penetrating the Austin Group in central Bexar County, Texas, 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, developed a geodatabase of geologic and hydrogeologic information for selected wells penetrating the Austin Group in central Bexar County, Texas. The Austin Group functions as an upper confining unit to the Edwards aquifer and is the thickest and most permeable of the...
Pedraza, Diana E.; Shah, Sachin D.
Design and Compilation of a Geodatabase of Existing Salinity Information for the Rio Grande Basin, from the Rio Arriba-Sandoval County Line, New Mexico, to Presidio, Texas, 2010
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, compiled salinity-related water-quality data and information in a geodatabase containing more than 6,000 sampling sites. The geodatabase was designed as a tool for water-resource management and includes readily available digital data sources from the U.S. Geological...
Shah, Sachin D.; Maltby, David R.
An Integrated Hydrogeologic and Geophysical Investigation to Characterize the Hydrostratigraphy of the Edwards Aquifer in an Area of Northeastern Bexar County, Texas
In August 2007, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the San Antonio Water System, did a hydrogeologic and geophysical investigation to characterize the hydrostratigraphy (hydrostratigraphic zones) and also the hydrogeologic features (karst features such as sinkholes and caves) of the Edwards aquifer in a 16-square-kilometer area of...
Shah, Sachin D.; Smith, Bruce D.; Clark, Allan K.; Payne, Jason
Application of Surface Geophysical Methods, With Emphasis on Magnetic Resonance Soundings, to Characterize the Hydrostratigraphy of the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer, College Station, Texas, July 2006 - A Pilot Study
The U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board, used surface geophysical methods at the Texas A&M University Brazos River Hydrologic Field Research Site near College Station, Texas, in a pilot study, to characterize the hydrostratigraphic properties of the Brazos River alluvium aquifer and determine the...
Shah, Sachin D.; Kress, Wade H.; Legchenko, Anatoly
Hydrogeologic characterization of the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer, Bosque County to Fort Bend County, Texas
Introduction The Brazos River alluvium aquifer underlies the Brazos River in Texas from Bosque County to Fort Bend County. The aquifer, one of 21 minor aquifers in the State, supplies water for irrigation, domestic, stock, and commercial use. The Brazos River alluvium aquifer likely will become more important in the future as demand for water...
Shah, Sachin D.; Houston, Natalie A.; Braun, Christopher L.
Geologic and hydrogeologic information for a geodatabase for the Brazos River Alluvium Aquifer, Bosque County to Fort Bend County, Texas
During July-October 2006, the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), in cooperation with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), developed geologic and hydrogeologic information for a geodatabase for use in development of a Groundwater Availability Model (GAM) of the Brazos River alluvium aquifer along the Brazos River from Bosque County to Fort Bend...
Shah, Sachin D.; Houston, Natalie A.
Time-domain electromagnetic soundings to characterize water quality within a freshwater/saline-water transition zone, Estancia Valley, New Mexico, July 2005 - A reconnaissance study
During July 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the New Mexico Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources, conducted a reconnaissance study in the Estancia Valley in central New Mexico to characterize water quality using time-domain electromagnetic (TDEM) surface-geophysical soundings. TDEM sounding is one of a number of surface...
Shah, Sachin D.; Kress, Wade H.; Land, Lewis A.
Two-dimensional resistivity investigation along West Fork Trinity River, Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base, Carswell Field, Fort Worth, Texas, October 2004
Naval Air Station-Joint Reserve Base Carswell Field (NAS-JRB) at Fort Worth, Tex., constitutes a government-owned, contractor-operated facility that has been in operation since 1942. Contaminants, primarily volatile organic compounds and metals, have entered the ground-water-flow system through leakage from waste-disposal sites and manufacturing...
Shah, Sachin D.; Stanton, Gregory P.
Water-level altitudes in wells completed in the northern segment of the Edwards Aquifer, Travis, Williamson, and Bell Counties, Texas, March-June 2005
During March-June 2005, the U.S. Geological Survey, in cooperation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), measured water levels in 80 Edwards aquifer wells in the outcrop of the northern segment of the aquifer in Travis, Williamson, and Bell Counties. Public-supply and private wells were selected in areas where outcrop water-...
Shah, Sachin D.
Western Fisheries Science News, May 2019 | Issue 7.5
Interactive Data Visualization Tool Allows Us to Explore Fish Use of Eelgrass Habitat in Puget Sound
New App for Lake Houston Provides Real-Time Stream and Water-Quality Data
Real-time water-quality, streamflow and water height information for Lake Houston and the surrounding San Jacinto watershed are now available from a new web application from the U.S. Geological Survey, done in cooperation with the City of Houston.
New App Shows Aquifer Level Change and Subsidence in Relation to Groundwater Withdrawals in Houston-Galveston Area
A new interactive web application illustrates how groundwater, sediment compaction and land-elevation change are related in the Houston-Galveston region in Texas. The new app was developed by the U.S. Geological Survey and is available online.