Middle Trinity Aquifer Synoptic
Jeff Watson, Staff Hydrogeologist at BSEACD, measuring Pleasant Valley Spring flow on September 14, 2023 with Radu Boghici, Hydrogeologist at Hays Trinity GCD. This month the District began conducting a synoptic survey of the Middle Trinity Aquifer. This involves measuring hundreds of Trinity Aquifer wells within a set timeframe and provides an overarching ‘snapshot’ of […]
Drought Update: September 2023
Blue Hole Regional Park on September 1, 2023. Photo by City of Wimberley Parks and Recreation Department. It’s been almost a year since the District declared Stage III Critical Drought on October 20, 2022. Since then, according to Texas Monthly, some impressive records have been set including the: This culmination of extended heat (80 triple […]
A Message from the General Manager – September 2023
By Tim Loftus, General Manager of the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District For the second year in a row, low flow in the Mississippi River is causing problems. Thanks to a lack of rainfall in the upper watershed, a saltwater wedge is moving upriver from the Gulf of Mexico and shutting down small water treatment […]
Drought Update: August 2023
Record Heat for the Texas Hill Country August has been a continuation of this summer’s incredibly hot and dry conditions. According to KXAN, August 17, 2023 reached 110 degrees and tied for the third hottest day recorded in Austin history and the second-hottest day ever observed in the month of August. The area also experienced 45 consecutive […]
Drought Update: July 2023
Dry, Hot Weather Exacerbates Drought Conditions Extreme heat across Central Texas has been a mainstay of news headlines over the past couple of months. Following an abnormally hot June, according to the Austin American-Statesman, we’re on pace for the hottest July on record, surpassing the previous record set just a year ago in 2022. July […]
District Foresees Unprecedented Transition to Stage IV Exceptional Drought
By Shay Hlavaty Barton Springs’ 10-day average flow fell to 16 cubic feet per second (cfs) on July 24, 2023. This is based on field measurements collected by the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (the District). For reference, the average flow for the springs since 1978 is 68 cfs. This decline in discharge is representative […]
Drought Update: 7.25.23
Drought Update: June 2023
2023 Rainfall So Far We’re halfway through the year, and while April and May rains provided much-needed recharge to the Edwards and Trinity aquifers, we remain in Stage III Critical Drought. This was initially declared on October 20, 2022, when the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (BSEACD) Lovelady monitor well passed below the Stage III […]
Senate Bill 1745 Passes
Written by Dr. Tim Loftus The 88th Legislature, Regular Session passed SB 1745 that will take effect on September 1, 2023. The new law allows the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (the District) to gradually increase Trinity production permit fees over the next few years to become equivalent to the fee for Conditional Edwards permits. […]
The BSEACD Trinity Aquifer Sustainability Model: A Tool for Evaluating Sustainable Yield of the Trinity Aquifer in Hays County, Texas
View the executive summary here. The Trinity Aquifer in Hays County is an important groundwater resource which is the only available source of drinking water to people living in central and western Hays County, and is the source of ecologically, culturally, and economically important springs within the Blanco River Basin. Pumping has increased in recent […]