The decision support tool developed during our research is built using all open access, publicly available datasets developed and distributed by academic research institutions and government agencies. While this was a deliberate choice in order to ensure that our tool is transferable and widely applicable, we recognize that the data contained in the analysis include inherent uncertainties and, in some cases, may be under-representative of local conditions. As such, the outputs of our tool include the same uncertainties present in the data analyzed. In addition, some of the datasets used in the analysis are interpolated using a consistent interpolation method, and they may vary from ground truthed values for the same data. For a full description of the limitations identified in this project, please refer to our project report, viewable on the 'Resources' page. This tool also includes multiple weighted sums, each of which includes assumptions related to the suitability of conditions for recharge and zones of influence of recharge projects that affect the outputs, which are detailed further in the User Manual. 

 

The tool is built to provide analysis of relative suitability for groundwater recharge activities, meaning that there is no absolute metric by which we define good areas for recharge. We do not make any guarantees of the level of efficacy of recharge projects conducted based on the outputs of our tool.