The raging waters and massive sinkhole found on some private land west of San Antonio are tremendous symbols of hope. The drought is officially over.
The Edwards aquifer has reached its highest levels since 2010 according to the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA). This is good news for residents of the southern hill country. The Edwards Aquifer provides drinking water to practically all of the people in the region.
Engineers from the EAA estimate that more than 500 cubic feet of water per second descends into the boiling chasm below. Currently, the EAA is measuring that the aquifer’s Bexar County levels have been rising at a rate of about one foot per day.
The owners of the property where the sinkhole was found take this as a good sign. Geologists name this type of phenomenon a “recharge” and any areas experiencing a recharge are known as “recharge zones.”
The EAA still has its concerns about the coming summer. Although Bexar and the surrounding areas in the Edwards Aquifer zone are currently drunk on the sweet waters of the recent spring rains, the previous years of drought have left the soil and porous bedrock surrounding the aquifer a mess. Much of the water that normally would pass through the aquifer and be spread to surrounding areas is leaking out into other springs. While the springs in places like San Marcos and New Braunfels do provide water to a significant number of people, many of the other areas are likely to experience lower levels than in the past, despite all of the rain.
Projections simulated by the EAA suggest that the levels in the aquifer should begin to fall to a median range that may call for stage-1 pumping restrictions. The projections are based on the aquifer’s level at the end of the month of May.
