Review of the 2020 Statewide Suitability Survey of ASR and AR for Texas Aquifers.

In 2019, the Texas Legislature directed the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) to conduct a statewide managed aquifer recharge (MAR) suitability survey for Texas. The resulting Statewide Survey of Aquifer Suitability for Aquifer Storage and Recovery Projects or Aquifer Recharge Projects has provided an initial, regional (not site-specific) scale analysis of the potential for MAR within the 31 major and minor aquifers of Texas. The results of the survey are presented on a 50,000-ft statewide grid (89.5 sq. mi. cells), which provided coincident boundaries for intersecting GIS layers. The survey consists of three independent screenings: hydrogeological parameters, excess water, and water supply needs. Each of these three screenings considered multiple parameters scored on a weighted scale, with critical parameters receiving higher weights. The three highest screenings in a 25-grid cell search area (approximately 2240 mile2) were combined to create two final suitability scorings and ratings: one for aquifer storage and recovery and one for aquifer recharge. Entities have used the survey as part of initial evaluations for MAR. Since publication in December 2020, stakeholders and interested parties have provided feedback on the methodology, impact, and potential future of the survey. This narrative review paper is a discussion of that feedback.