SOURCE A VITAL EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY JURISDICTION COUNTIES The Edwards Aquifer spans approximately 3,600 square miles comprising three zones and providing water for 2.5 million people in eight di erent counties.
UNDERSTANDING THE AQUIFER ZONES
GILLESPIE
BLANCO
Fredericksburg
HAYS
EDWARDS
KERR
Blanco
CONTRIBUTING ZONE: Also called the drainage zone, the watersheds in this area drain into streams or areas where water is quickly absorbed into the Edwards Aquifer.
Buda
Kerrville
KENDALL
Rocksprings
REAL
San Marcos Lockhart
COMAL
BANDERA
Boerne
New Braunfels
CALDWELL
Leakey
Bandera
GUADALUPE
Selma Schertz
UVALDE
ARTESIAN ZONE: This is the section of the Edwards Aquifer where the water pressure brings water to the surface naturally in springs and some wells. RECHARGE ZONE: This is the part of the Edwards Aquifer with sinkholes and fractures where rainwater easily enters and re lls the aquifer.
San Antonio
Hondo
Brackettville
WILSON
Uvalde
BEXAR
Floresville
KINNEY
MEDINA
MAVERICK
Batesville
Pearsall
Pleasanton
Eagle Pass
ZAVALA
FRIO
ATASCOSA
MAP NOT TO SCALE N
SOURCE: EDWARDS AQUIFER AUTHORITY COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
may not come out of any stage of crit- ical period if we don’t have rainfall.”
restrictions. According to Krause, the biggest water user is with an irrigation system or sprinkler. Increasing the amount residents water their grass during hot summer months will not bring grass back to life, but it will cause an increase in water bills, according to Krause. “When grass turns to brown, it is not a signal that it has died; it signals that the grass has gone dormant,” she said. “This is a natural process; which means that it should return to its for- mer state when temperatures begin dropping in the fall.” Krause said that a team is work- ing on deciding what Stage 4 drought restrictions may look like. “Currently, that work is still under- way, and our latest predictions indi- cate we could approach Stage 4 if we have no weather events on the hori- zon,” she said. “We were in the Stage 4 trigger level in 2014; however, we did not call Stage 4 due to forecasted rain
events that actualized.” The most signi cant historic drought in Texas took place in 1956, when the Comal Springs stopped ow- ing completely from June to Novem- ber, Ruiz said. “The drought that we had from 2011- 14 started to look quite a bit like the drought of record [in 1956] in terms of intensity,” Ruiz said. “Some might say that it was even more intense than the 1950s; it just wasn’t as long. In the 1950s, that drought was—depending on who you ask—was either a seven- or 10-year drought.” NBU Watershed Program Manager Mark Enders said he is concerned about the possibility of a prolonged drought and encouraged residents to conserve water when possible. However, by utilizing additional water supplies from other sources, NBU may be able to maintain Stage 3 watering restrictions for residents but still decrease Edwards Aquifer usage,
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The J-17 Index Well in Bexar County is used to monitor and track water levels in the aquifer and cor- relates closely to ow levels from Comal Springs. The J-17 Index Well is over 23 feet below the historic aver- age values for the summer months in the region, according to the Edwards Aquifer Authority. It would take a signi cant amount of rain in the northwest region of Central Texas to allow drought restrictions to be lifted. If the area does not have any rainy seasons leading up to next summer, a dry cli- mate will continue, according to EAA General Manager Roland Ruiz. “Short of signi cant rainfall between now and the start of next year, we’re going to nd ourselves where we are today, except earlier in the year,” Ruiz said. “Because we
NBU drought response New Braunfels was free of drought restrictions from November 2021 until March 1, when Stage 1 water restric- tions were declared due to the lack of su cient rainfall. Previously, NBU declared Stage 2 restrictions on April 13. Stage 3 restrictions were enforced on March 10, limiting the amount of water that can be used by residents. Current Stage 3 restrictions limit watering with a sprinkler or irriga- tion system to once every other week based on the last digit of one’s address before 10 a.m. or after 8 p.m. Melissa Krause, chief strategic communications and security o cer for NBU, said that it is important for New Braunfels residents to conserve water and adhere to Stage 3 drought
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