Chapter 19 Natural and Anthropogenic Factors Affecting Groundwater in the Critical Zone of the Texas Triangle Megaregion
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In the United States, more than 80% of the population now lives in urban areas. By 2050, a significant portion of that population will live in megaregions consisting of two or more metropolitan areas linked with interdependent environmental systems, a multimodal transportation infrastructure and complementary economies. The Texas-Triangle megaregion is one of the 8-10 such regions in the United States and it is spatially delineated by the metropolitan areas of Dallas/Fort Worth, Austin, San Antonio and Houston, with a total land size of nearly 35,435km2. Supporting the modern industrial infrastructure of a major metropolitan megaregion has required extensive water-related modifications to the Critical Zone. These modifications come in the form of an extensive network of dams and reservoirs, a high-density matrix of wells for extracting water, oil, and gas from the Critical Zone, significant landcover alterations, and interbasin transfer of ground and surface water. Progressive depletion of Critical Zone reserves threatens sustainable development in the heavily groundwater-dependent Texas Triangle and requires robust and effective, water-resource policy for the megaregion to remain economically viable. 2015 Elsevier B.V.
