Aquifer Update

Drought Status: No Drought
Barton Springs Flow: 53.8 cfs (10-day average)
Lovelady Elevation: 488.2* (165.2 ft depth to water)

*Note that we have changed the drought trigger thresholds for the Lovelady well. These new triggers will be adopted into the District's recent rule revisions. The new triggers will not materially affect the entry or exit of drought--the method we've developed will function as it always has. However, we had a survey of the well so that we can translate the depth to water from the land surface (in feet) to an accurate water level elevation (in feet above mean sea level).

For example, I measured 165.2 ft depth to water, to get the elevation of the water level I subtract that value from the land surface elevation we had surveyed (653.42 ft above mean sea level). The result is an elevation of the water level in the Lovelady well of 488.2 ft-msl.

The elevation of the Lovelady well is similar to the J-17 well water elevation that is used in the San Antonio segment (http://edwardsaquifer.org/). Today the J-17 elevation is 645.2 ft-msl.
 

Alarm Stage Drought approaching

Status: No Drought 
Barton Springs Discharge: 56 cfs daily average (57.9 10-day average)
Lovelady Well: 161.6 depth to water

Both Barton Springs and the Lovelady well are declining rapidly. Barton Springs is declining at a rate of about 0.5 cfs per day and could take us into Alarm Stage II drought conditions by the middle of October if we don't receive significant rainfall soon.

El Nino conditions are thought to be developing and we hope that those conditions will bring about more rainfall than normal and alleviate our dry conditions.