The Edwards Aquifer Authority, in an effort to delay the need for mandatory restrictions on pumping from the aquifer, is urging water users across the region to heighten conservation measures to help counter the effects of a continuing drought.
Without measurable rainfall, Authority officials project that Stage I of the region’s critical period management plan could be declared within weeks, based on the declining rate of springflow at the San Marcos Springs.
The San Marcos Springs are one of three indicators identified in the Edwards Aquifer Authority Act to gauge aquifer conditions and to trigger various stages of the critical period management plan for the San Antonio Pool of the Edwards Aquifer region.
Currently, the other two indicators – water level as measured at the J-17 Index Well in Bexar County and the rate of spring discharge at the Comal Springs – have not yet dropped to critical period trigger levels. However, on Thursday, Jan. 15, the 10-day average of rate of springflow at the San Marcos Springs was 97.8 cubic feet per second (cfs), less than two cfs from the stage I trigger point of 96 cfs.
Citing rainfall amounts well below the historical norm across the region for 2008, Authority officials estimate that springflow at San Marcos Springs could drop below the 96 cfs trigger by the first week of February, which would necessitate the declaration of Stage I.
Under Stage I, municipal, industrial and agricultural users must cut their pumping from the aquifer by 20 percent. Stage I for the San Antonio Pool applies to all Edwards Aquifer groundwater permit holders within Atascosa, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, and Medina counties. However, EAA officials said they believe voluntary conservation now could help delay the mandatory cutbacks.
The Edwards Aquifer Authority manages the Edwards Aquifer, one of the major groundwater systems in Texas serving approximately 1.7 million people. Contact the EAA at www.edwardsaquifer.org.
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