Estimated Annual Recharge to the Edwards Aquifer in the San Antonio Area, by Stream Basin or Ungaged Area
Summary
The Edwards aquifer in south central Texas is one of the most permeable and productive aquifers in the United States and is the major source of public water supply for Bexar, Comal, Hays, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. The Edwards aquifer also supplies large quantities of water to agriculture, business, and industry in the region. The major artesian springs of the Edwards aquifer provide water for recreational activities, businesses, and downstream users, and provide habitat for several threatened or endangered species. The areas pertinent to the recharge process are the catchment area and the recharge zone. The catchment area consists of the parts of stream basins upstream from the recharge zone. Streams in the catchment area generally [...]
Summary
The Edwards aquifer in south central Texas is one of the most permeable and productive aquifers in the United States and is the major source of public water supply for Bexar, Comal, Hays, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. The Edwards aquifer also supplies large quantities of water to agriculture, business, and industry in the region. The major artesian springs of the Edwards aquifer provide water for recreational activities, businesses, and downstream users, and provide habitat for several threatened or endangered species.
The areas pertinent to the recharge process are the catchment area and the recharge zone. The catchment area consists of the parts of stream basins upstream from the recharge zone. Streams in the catchment area generally gain water as they flow toward the recharge zone. As the streams flow across the recharge zone, which is essentially the outcrop of the Edwards aquifer, they lose substantial amounts of water through infiltration into the highly permeable, faulted and fractured rocks of the outcrop. Direct infiltration of rainfall also occurs in the interstream areas of the recharge zone.
Annual recharge estimates are based on data collected from a network of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging stations at sites upstream and downstream from the recharge zone and on assumptions related to applying runoff characteristics from gaged areas to ungaged areas.
The annual estimation of recharge to the Edwards aquifer is part of a continuing program of the USGS in cooperation with the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
Child items in this folder contain the annual updates to this data set.
