Barton Springs Multiport Well
Jeff Watson, Staff Hydrogeologist, collecting freshly cut core samples during the Barton Springs Multiport Well drilling process in February 2024. The District has successfully drilled two new monitor wells this year- one in Garrison Park and another in Zilker Park just south of Barton Springs Pool. While construction at the Garrison monitor well is now […]
Message from the GM – January 2024
District permittees, constituents with private wells, and staff have something in common: The 19-month (and counting) drought has been stressful. Last week’s rains were more than welcome and have had a positive impact on our two drought sentinels. Barton Springs is flowing at about 70 cfs, which is above the 45-year median average for late […]
Preparing for Winter Weather
While winters are generally mild in the Texas Hill Country, the last few years have taught us that extremes are always possible and it pays to be prepared. Winter Storm Uri in 2021 created more than $195 billion in damage, making it the costliest natural disaster in Texas history. Part of this damage was the […]
Lovelady Monitor Well: Past and Present
BSEACD staff measures the Lovelady monitor well in south Austin with an e-line in July of 2023. For those who keep up with the District’s drought status, it’s common knowledge that the Lovelady monitor well is one of our two primary drought triggers. What you may not know is that it also provides key historical […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
Proposed Kinder Morgan Pipeline
Kinder Morgan has proposed a natural gas pipeline that crosses through the Barton Springs/Edwards Aquifer Conservation District (District) in Hays County. The proposed alignment crosses environmentally sensitive areas. Staff have compiled data in the form of maps to examine how the proposed alignment relates to the hydrogeology of the District. March 2021 On March 25, […]
Evolution of Sound Policy
Evolution of Sound Policy. Since 1904, the legal framework applied to groundwater resources in Texas has been the common law “Rule of Capture.” Texas is the only western state that still governs groundwater based on this legal doctrine that provides a landowner the right to capture and develop water beneath their property. the courts have […]
