Algal biofuel shows incredible potential as a partial solution to our global energy problems, but whether algal biofuel will succeed in the Southwestern United States may depend on the ability of microalgae to effectively grow in water from brackish or saline aquifers. This study was designed to test how effectively algae can grow in water from these brackish aquifers. Experiments measured growth rates (determined by final chlorophyll content) of three algal cultures (Chlorella vulgaris and two locally collected cultures) in increasing concentrations of salt (NaCl), the growth of C. vulgaris in three types of salt found in southwestern aquifers (MgCl2, NaCl, Na2SO4), and the ability of two species (C. Vulgaris and one local species) to produce more lipids when grown in a nitrogen deplete medium rather than a nitrogen replete medium (the "lipid trigger" theory). Data from the first experiment showed that increasing salt decreased overall growth in C. vulgaris and culture #1, but that culture #2 was salt tolerant. The second experiment showed that increasing concentrations of magnesium chloride and sodium chloride decreased growth overall, and that sodium sulfate increased growth overall. The third experiment showed that C. vulgaris had higher lipid content than culture #2, but that neither species significantly increased lipid production when deprived of nitrogen. Though cultivation of algae for biofuel is not currently profitable, utilization of one or more of these strains in brackish aquifer water may provide a viable means to produce biofuel in the future.