Dr. Robert Mace

  • Exec Dir, Meadows Ctr at Meadows Ctr for Water & the Environment
  • Professor of Practice at Dept of Geography & Environmntl Studies, College of Liberal Arts

Scholarly and Creative Works

2026

  • Loodin, N., Eckstein, G. E., Singh, V. P., Sanchez, R., & Mace, R. E. (2026). Conceptualizing trust using the Helmand River as an example—A cost-benefit decision-making analysis framework. Oxford University Press.
  • Adams, A. T., & Mace, R. E. (2026). Perceptions on climate change and resilience by water-resource decisionmakers in Texas. The Professional Geographer, https://doi.org/10.1080/00330124.2025.2607691.
  • Staska, S., Julian, J. P., Mace, R. E., & Votteler, T. H. (n.d.). Waterworks over watersheds: Texas’s Geography of Transwatershed and Interbasin Transfers. Texas Water Journal.

2025

  • Adams, A., Mace, R. E., & Villagran, M. M. (2025). Disaster and recovery in the Guadalupe Valley Lakes Region of Central Texas. Texas Water Journal, 16, 57–79. https://doi.org/10.21423/twj.v16i1.7182
  • Magar, N. T., & Mace, R. E. (2025). Enhancing recharge in karst aquifers—A case study of the Edwards Aquifer.
  • Briones, R. O., & Mace, R. E. (2025). Reliable rainwater is only a roof away—The firm yield of rainwater harvesting in Texas. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). User’s Guide for RAINFAL (Rainwater Assessment and Interactive eNumator for Firm-yield Analysis Limits). The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E., & Zhang, Y. (2025). Coupled correlative allocations for groundwater management in Texas—Overview, examples, and a hypothetical conversion. , The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Beckmann, S., Halihan, T., Xu, T., Zhang, Y., Mace, R. E., & Sewell, G. (2025). Development of innovative monitoring and analysis strategies for rural enhanced aquifer recharge structures. Oklahoma State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). The Flowing Jewels of the Escarpment: The Springs of the Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer. In The Balcones Escarpment Revisited—Geology, Hydrology, Landforms, and Geoheritage in Central Texas. Geological Society of America.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Loopholes and springflows. So Secret, Occult, and Concealed.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Most of the state in drought, La Niña remains, and an interesting hurricane season. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña is here, the second month the rain stopped, and drought and The Blob are coming for us all. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Hyporheic homebodies, hot and cloudy corals, and carbon sequestration. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Alfalfa lightly salted with produced water, Edwards water market analysis, and thirsty cows. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña watch, the month the rain stopped, and drought is coming for us all. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Where are thou, Elbow Spring? So Secret, Occult, and Concealed.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Water and the White Shaman, small flows with big benefits, and an acronym from hell. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña watch, drought improvements expected, the 20th warmest year (so far). Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Measles in wastewater, flu alerts triggered by wastewater, and who pooped at the beach? Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Massive rains in the Hill Country, drought improvement, but the Edwards is still in drought. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Water and the White Shaman, biochar and cucumbers, and a pain in the ash. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Nada through March? drought shrinks, and rain bombs in the Hill Country. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E., & Thompson, C. (2025). Salt to Sanctuary—Desalination and Ecology of Bays and Estuaries. (S. Wingfield, Ed.), Come Heck or High Water. Anchor by Spotify.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Did Kinney County break its desired future conditions? (Part Deux). So Secret, Occult, and Concealed.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Cities sinking, lakes sedimenting, and lower albedo’ing. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Nada settles in, drought contracts (but is expected to remain), and hurricanes expected to be active. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Did Kinney County break its desired future conditions? (Part 1). So Secret, Occult, and Concealed.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Detention basins, well integrity, and AI-driven flood statistics. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña fades away, drought contracts (but extreme drought expands), and the next three months favor hot with dry conditions for the High Plains. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E., & Thompson, C. (2025). From Policy to Pipes—Legislative Considerations for Desalination. (S. Wingfield, Ed.), Come Heck or High Water. Anchor by Spotify.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Plastics in bays, plastics in rivers, and arsenic in urine. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña persists, drought expands, and the next three months favor hot and dry. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E., & Thompson, C. (2025). Shoring Up Potable Water—Bringing Israeli Technology to Texas. (S. Wingfield, Ed.), Come Heck or High Water. Anchor by Spotify.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Hydrogen and water use, elevated E. coli, and remedial oysters. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña is still here, the drought thickens, and the next three months favor hot and dry. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E., & Thompson, C. (2025). Gearing Up for a Resilient Future—Seawater Desalination 101. (S. Wingfield, Ed.), Come Heck or High Water. Anchor by Spotify.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). The retirement of “judge groundwater.” So Secret, Occult, and Concealed.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Land use change on the Rio Grande, groundwater sustainability in Texas, and the Texas Water Observatory. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). La Niña is here, drought about the same, next three months favor hot and dry. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). A new (free!) book on freshwater inflows to bays and estuaries in Texas. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2025). Drought decreases and storage increases, but the year is not starting off good. Texas+Water.

2024

2023

  • Mace, R. E., & Jones, C. (2023). Frac sand facilities and their potential effects on the groundwater resources of the Monahans-Mescalero Sand Ecosystem, Permian Basin, Texas. Texas Water Journal, 14(1), 62–80.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023). Sustainability signaling in aquifers.
  • Zhang, Y., & Mace, R. E. (2023). Comparative Flow Analysis between the Pedernales River and Barton and Onion Creeks. San Marcos, Texas: The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, November 30). outlook+water: Drought nearly halved, El Niño through (maybe) may, less than a one in three chance of drought ending by the end of May. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, October 27). Conserving water for power, the straight poop on stormwater retention, and water for peanuts. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, October 27). outlook+water: Short-term improvements, drought expected to linger, and winter is coming. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, October 2). outlook+water: Drought remains, wetter-than-normal conditions may be on the way, and the odds of a super El Niño. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, August 28). think+water: Climate change and irrigation, climate change and firm yield, and governance gaps in colonias flood planning. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, August 28). outlook+water: The drought deepens, drought is expected to get worse, high temps to continue. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, July 26). outlook+water— Drought expands, drought is expected to get worse, high temps to continue. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, June 26). think+water: Hands across the Edwards Aquifer and climate-smart agriculture. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, June 26). outlook+water—El Niño is here, drought is down, reservoirs are (slightly) up. Texas +water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, May 30). think+water: Ecosystem services value, TMDLs and E. coli, and a warming Gulf of Mexico. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, May 30). outlook+water— Drought down (but not out), El Niño almost certain this summer, warmer-than-normal temps and near-normal rainfall expected. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, April 24). think+water: Climate change and the Pecos River Compact, climate change and South Central Texas, and San Antonio’s aquifer storage and recovery project. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, April 24). outlook+water—Under an El Niño watch, drought stable (but expected to continue). Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023). What Can You Do About Climate Change? Hotter Than a Habanero. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023). All Droughts Are Not Created Equal. Hotter Than a Habanero. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, March 27). think+water: Water affordability and climate change in El Paso, home on the future range of the Ogallala, and resilience after Winter Storm Uri. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, March 27). outlook+water—La Niña now La Nada, drought expanding, drought expected to continue. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, March 26). Smart water strategies are crucial to Texas’ prosperity. Retrieved from https://www.statesman.com/story/opinion/columns/your-voice/2023/03/26/opinion-smart-water-strategies-are-crucial-to-texas-prosperity/70035346007/
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, February 27). think+water: Induced earthquakes, bad algae, and fishing guides. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, February 27). outlook+water—Drought up, reservoir storage up, and La Niña (going) down. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, January 23). think+water: Conserving water in citrus groves, black outages matter, and a massive load of mercury for Galveston Bay. Texas + Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2023, January 20). outlook+water—2022 was pretty drouthy, hot and dry is the new black, La Niña’s days are (still) numbered. Texas + Water.

2022

2021

2020

  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Fifty Years in America with Glimpses of Heaven—The True Story of an Immigrant from India. ISBN-13: 979-8668261345.
  • Rubinstein, C., & Mace, R. E. (2020). Understanding Texas weather and climate and how climate change might impact water resources. In Essentials of Texas Water Resources (pp. 2–1 to 2–26). Austin, Texas: Texas Bar Books.
  • Rosen, R. A., Mace, R. E., Hermitte, S. M., & Wade, R. (2020). Internet of Texas Water—Use cases for flood, drought, and surface water-groundwater interactions. Texas Water Journal, 11(1), 133–151.
  • Nielsen-Gammon, J. W., Banner, J. W., Cook, B. I., Tremaine, D. M., Wong, C. I., Mace, R. E., … Kloesel, K. (2020). Unprecedented drought challenges for Texas water resources in a changing climate: what do researchers and stakeholders need to know? Earth’s Future, https://doi.org/10.1029/2020EF001552.
  • Mace, R. E., Leurig, S., Seely, H., & Wiermann, D. A. (2020). Bringing back Comanche Springs—An analysis of the history, hydrogeology, policy, and economics. The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment, Texas State University.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Review of “Ogallala - Water for a dry land.” Water Alternatives. Retrieved from http://www.water-alternatives.org/index.php/boh/item/121-oga
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). think+water—Dam Failures, Lemon Water and Naturalized Flows: Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, December 25). think+water— Mindfulness, Ecological Economics and Reuse Potential for Combined Sanitary Wastewater and Stormwater Systems. Texas+water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, December 24). outlook+water—93 percent of Texas abnormally dry, La Niña may transition to La Nada and Santa will need Rudolph’s services on Christmas Eve. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, November 30). outlook+water—A Hurricane Season for the Record Books, 98 Percent of Texas Abormally Dry, and Drought Projected Through Spring. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Water Conservation. Mothering Earth Podcast.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, October 27). outlook+water—A Horribly Dry October, Predicted Drought for Nearly All of Texas and Some (Promised) Relief from Mexico. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, September 25). outlook+water—The Atlantic Vincent van Gogh’d, Drought Relief and La Niña. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, August 26). think+water—Harvey over-freshened Galveston Bay, warming and urban Springs, nurdle patrols and snakes on a (Gulf Coastal) plain. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, August 25). outlook+water—Hurricane Laura, More Tropical Storms, and an Increased Chance for La Niña. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Austin in 100 years. The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). All droughts are not created equal. The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, July 29). think+water— Fights over the Rio Grande, energy and water, groundwater contamination in colonias, and a saintlier St. Augustine. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, July 29). outlook+water—Tropical Storm Hanna, a record-breaking tropical storm season, and a coin-flip La Niña for the fall. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, June 24). think+water—Brackish groundwater and subsidence, riparian coridors and land-use/climate impacts on urban watershed. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, June 24). outlook+water—Climate trends, the return of drought, and a good chance La Nina. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Being FAIR during a pandemic. The Cynthia and George Mitchell Foundation.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020, May 26). think+water—Eutrophication, subsidence, bi-national groundwater and landscaping in a warmer climate. Texas+Water.
  • Mace, R. E. (2020). Comanche Springs Re-awakening. talk+water by Texas+Water.

2019

  • Mace, R. E. (2019). The use of water from the Edwards Aquifers, Texas. In The Edwards Aquifer: The Past, Present, and Future of a Vital Water Resource (pp. 207–212). Geological Society of America Memoir 215.
  • Bixler, R. P., Atshan, S., Banner, J. L., Tremaine, D., & Mace, R. E. (2019). A framework for integrative assessment of environmental sustainability research: Use of social network analysis to assess interdisciplinarity in the Texas Water Research Network. Current Opinion in Environmental Sustainability, 39, 103–113.
  • Fernando, D. N., Chakraborty, S., & Mace, R. E. (2019). A process-based statistical seasonal prediction of summer rainfall anomalies in supporting drought early warning over the Southern Great Plains of the United States. Climate Services, 16.
  • Mace, R. E., & Votteler, T. H. (2019). Book review—Advances in Groundwater Governance. Groundwater.
  • Mace, R. E. (2019). Foreword to Rosen, R.A., Hermitte, S.M., Pierce, S., Richards, S., and Roberts, S.V., An Internet for water—Connecting Texas water data: Texas Water Journal,. Texas Water Journal (1st ed., Vol. 10, pp. 22–29).
  • Mace, R. E. (2019). Frac sand facilities and their potential effects on the groundwater resources of the Monahans-Mescalero Sand Ecosystem, Permian Basin, Texas. San Marcos, Texas: The Meadows Center for Water and the Environment.
  • Mace, R. E., & Votteler, T. H. (2019). Book review—Advances in Groundwater Governance. Groundwater.
  • Mace, R. E. (2019). Groundwater governance, management, regulation, and emerging issues in the Lone Star State. Water Resources IMPACT, 11–12.
  • Mace, R. E. (2019). With four million people and climate change, where will Austin’s water come from? Allandale Neighbor.

2018

  • Mace, R. E. (2018). Future Water Priorities for the Nation—Directions for the U.S. Geological Survey Water Mission Area. Washington, D.C., United States: The National Academies Press.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018). Groundwater Management. In Groundwater—State of the Science and Practice (pp. 38–40). Westerville, Ohio: National Ground Water Association Press.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018). Surface water-groundwater interaction issues in Texas. Texas Water Journal, 9(1), 129–149.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018, July). The Story of Texas Springs. Texas Water Development Board.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018, July 17). The Story of Texas Springs.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018, July 13). Springs have always been crucial to Texas and Texans.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018, June 15). Texas can be a little salty—Saline sources and desalination in the Lone Star State. The Water Report, 13–19.
  • Mace, R. E. (2018, May). Dead Zones. Acres USA.