Recent spring rains gave the Edwards Aquifer a needed boost, but water managers and farmers say the region remains far from drought recovery.
The Edwards Aquifer Authority’s latest public readings show the San Antonio Pool at Stage 4, requiring a 40% reduction in permitted pumping, while the Uvalde Pool is under Stage 5, requiring a 44% reduction. Those cutbacks apply to groundwater permit holders authorized to pump more than three acre-feet a year, including municipal, industrial and irrigation users.
The aquifer is central to life and agriculture across South Central Texas. The EAA regulates pumping across Bexar, Medina and Uvalde counties and parts of Atascosa, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe and Hays counties. It authorizes up to 572,000 acre-feet of groundwater withdrawals each year for municipal, industrial and irrigation use.
Heavy rain in April helped. San Antonio recorded 4.42 inches of rain on April 20, its wettest April day in a century. The J-17 index well in Bexar County rose from 626.7 feet to 632.8 feet, the highest level in seven months. But that remained more than 32 feet below the historical April average.
That is the central problem for farmers: a few strong storms can raise the aquifer, but they do not erase years of rainfall deficits. The region has been in persistent drought for more than four years, and the Uvalde Pool’s Stage 5 restrictions are forcing farmers to absorb a 44% pumping cut.
For growers in the Winter Garden region west of San Antonio, the consequences are immediate. Less groundwater means fewer acres planted, less flexibility during hot weather and harder choices about which crops are worth the risk. Some farmers are selling water rights or scaling back operations; others are leaving the business altogether. At the same time, they face higher input costs and low commodity prices, squeezing profit margins even when water is available.
The restrictions are designed to protect the aquifer and spring flows at Comal and San Marcos springs, which support endangered species and downstream water users. EAA says its Critical Period Management Plan is meant to slow the decline in aquifer levels until rainfall can recharge the system.
For San Antonio residents, diversified water supplies have helped reduce the risk of a drinking-water emergency. But for farmers who depend directly on Edwards irrigation water, the drought is already reshaping the economics of local agriculture. The recent rain bought time. It did not end the crisis.
Guests:
Roland Ruiz is the General Manager of the Edwards Aquifer Authority.
Steve Cargil is a Uvalde Farmer, Owner Cargil Produce and Edwards Aquifer Authority Board Member.
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