Southwest Groundwater Risks

Groundwater across Texas and the Southwest faces intertwined pressures from drought, rising municipal and industrial demand, and oilfield wastewater practices.

In Midland, produced-water leaks created a long-running plume requiring state-funded remediation, while a Grandfalls well failure demonstrated the risks of wastewater disposal near occupied communities. Around Corpus Christi, declining surface supplies have increased reliance on the Evangeline Aquifer, even as rural wells show declining performance and rising salinity. In Colorado’s San Luis Valley, depleted aquifers have been linked to elevated metals in private wells, highlighting the health, affordability, regulatory, and environmental-justice dimensions of groundwater stress.