Hydrology of the Edwards Group: A Karst Aquifer Under Stress

Date:: Friday, April 18, 8:00 a.m. – 6:00 p.m. Saturday, April 19, 8:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (departs from and returns to Convention Center each day)
Leaders:: Geary M. Schindel (Edwards Aquifer Authority, San Antonio, TX); Ronald Green (Southwest Research Institute, San Antonio, TX); E. Calvin Alexander, Jr. (University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN) and Charles Kreitler (LBG-Guyton Associates, Austin, TX)
Fee: Professional: $170 Students: $85 (limited number available)
Includes:: Transportation, breakfast snacks, lunch, refreshments and guidebook
Limit:: 30 persons

Seco Creek Sinkhole recharge structure located in Medina County, Texas. This sinkhole is usually dry and is a 150-foot natural shaft into a large cave that recharges water to the Edwards Aquifer.

Photo courtesy of Geary Schindel

The Balcones Fault Zone segment of the Edwards Aquifer in south-central Texas is one of the most permeable and productive aquifers in the United States. The San Antonio segment of the aquifer, which is the subject of this field trip, extends from the groundwater divide near Brackettville in Kinney County, east to the city of San Antonio in Bexar County, then northeast to the groundwater divide near Kyle in Hays County – a distance of approximately 250 kilometers.

This carbonate aquifer is the primary source of water for approximately 1.7 million people in the region and provides most of the water for agriculture and industry. In addition, the aquifer discharges through a series of large springs that provide aquatic habitat for a number of threatened and endangered species.

The Edwards Aquifer is an excellent example of a hypogenic karst aquifer formed at depths of up to 1,000 meters by dissolutional processes including corrosion mixing with hydrogen sulfide as well as meteoric waters. This regional resource has interesting implications in understanding both oil and water reservoirs.

The field trip will follow the path of water from Contributing Zone to Recharge Zone to Artesian Zone and will end by visiting Comal Springs, the largest spring in the southwestern United States. The field trip will discuss the formation of the aquifer, as well as management implications on water quality and quantity.

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Hydrology of the Edwards Group: A Karst Aquifer Under Stress

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