Groundwater accounts for approximately 60 percent of water used for domestic, municipal, industrial, and agricultural purposes in Texas today. With the state’s population expected to double by 2050, Texans are faced with managing limited existing groundwater supplies for sustainable use and seeking new sources of water.

• The Institute is collaborating with the Ecological Recovery Foundation to compile information on springs located in the seventy-one counties not included in the important reference resource, Springs of Texas by Gunnar Brune.
• The Institute has entered into a partnership with the Texas Alliance of Groundwater Districts to provide a series of regional training workshops to staff and board members of the member districts. It is working to provide immediate support to the districts to develop required Groundwater Management Plans and is developing workshops that will result in important new technical capabilities, such as groundwater monitoring and application of hydrogeology principles.

Unlike surface waters, which can flush many contaminants after significant rainfall events, groundwater supplies move underground and recharge slowly, and once contaminated are difficult to treat. The Institute is monitoring wells to determine whether concentrated animal feeding operations are having an effect on ground water quality in the Guadalupe River Basin. The study will take a multidisciplinary approach using geographic information systems, field research, existing surface water quality measures, and groundwater quality testing of wells.

Springs

The Institute is also conducting studies on selected spring systems during different levels of spring flow to determine the impact on biota during periods of reduced spring flow. Springs are the natural outlets of groundwater and often form the base flow for rivers and streams. Springs that run dry or experience reduced flow have profound effects on surface water and life systems that depend on them.