NewsDrop-May-June-2026

AQUIFER MANAGEMENT SERVICES | FEATURED STORY

Protecting Springflows During Drought: a Success Story

Fast forward to 1996, the EAA was created through the EAA Act to protect springflows at Comal and San Marcos springs and the endangered species that depend on them. The legislation that created the EAA capped the total volume of permitted withdrawals from the Aquifer at 572,000 acre-feet per year (ac-ft/yr) 1 . Regulatory management of withdrawals is accomplished through a permitting process in which users of the resource must have a groundwater permit. Permitted withdrawals (water withdrawn from the aquifer associated with a permit) are subject to reductions based on aquifer levels and springflow conditions. These reductions are just one of several management tools designed to help ensure sustained flows at the springs during periods of drought Management tools for the Aquifer The EAA Act provided a legislative framework to regulate withdrawals from the aquifer such that all users of the aquifer could continue to benefit from the resource while springflows and endangered species were protected. Over time, the need for this regulatory framework has grown as our region has experienced significant population growth, increased demand, and a greater frequency of The drought of record had significant impacts on the Edwards Aquifer system and ultimately established a precedent for regulating the Aquifer to ensure its sustainable use. Most notably, Comal Springs stopped flowing from June 1956 until early November 1956. The loss of springflow during this severe drought was further exacerbated by unregulated withdrawals from the Aquifer.

Rebecca R. Nunu Principal Geoscientist Aquifer Science

By: J. Mark Hamilton Executive Director Aquifer Management Services

By: Paul Bertetti Senior Director Aquifer Science Research & Modeling

A fundamental component of the Edwards Aquifer Authority’s (EAA) mission is to implement groundwater management tools designed to ensure that flows at Comal and San Marcos springs are sustained during periods of drought. To achieve this, withdrawals from the aquifer are managed through measures such as pumping reductions and water leasing incentives. These tools are intended to maintain springflow during drought conditions as severe as the historic drought of record that occurred in the 1950s.

drought periods. Threatened and endangered species are further protected by the Edwards Aquifer Habitat Conservation Plan (EAHCP), which brings together the communities that rely on the Aquifer and its springs to help ensure that efforts to protect the springs also support our region’s economic, recreational, and drinking water needs. The features of the EAA Act and the EAHCP enable the EAA to effectively manage the Aquifer by employing regulatory, voluntary, and conservation-based methods. The water level and springflow triggers as well as the volumes targeted by other methods are based on rigorous technical analyses. Aquifer data, including water levels, springflows, and recharge, have been collected for decades. These data, along with aquifer characteristics and species’ needs learned from years of research, were combined to create detailed computer-based models of the Aquifer system. The models were then used to evaluate the effects of reductions in pumping, forbearance of pumping, conservation quantities, and use of aquifer storage and recovery on springflows. The overall goal of the analysis was to develop management strategies that would maintain springflows during a drought that was equivalent to the historical drought of record.

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