January 2019 Recharge in Action

No Drought 
Lovelady well height: 514 ft-msl (139 ft-Depth to Water)

Barton Springs: approximately 106 cfs 10-day average

Austin and Central Texas entered the new year following some of the wettest December weather ever recorded. On Friday, Dec. 7, 2018, ABIA recorded 3.5 inches of rainfall, over six times greater than the previous December record for a day. In fact, the precipitation recorded that day alone was more than the average rainfall for the entire month (2.2 inches).  By New Year’s Eve, 6.0 inches of rain had fallen in Austin and the Hill Country for the month of December which is more than two times the average.

The wet trend continued into early January 2019 with the Austin area totaling about 3.0 inches, exceeding the historical average of 1.9 inches for the month of January. This record rainfall has resulted in substantial recharge, thus the BSEACD, like most of the State, are not experiencing drought conditions.

IMAGE 1: Inside View of Cave Receiving Recharge

This wet period has produced a prolonged period of streamflow throughout the region. Often the streams in the Hill Country are either dry or have very low flow. The rains are sustaining stream flow in creeks and rivers that are providing substantial recharge to the Trinity and Edwards aquifers.

In addition, much of Central Texas is a karst landscape, meaning a large fraction of the rainfall we receive infiltrates through soils or direct flow into recharge features such as caves or sinkholes.

IMAGE 2: Cave Taking Recharge in Driftwood

So, groundwater resources are presently experiencing high levels of recharge and high water levels and springflow such as Barton Springs (Edwards Aquifer) and Jacob’s Well (Trinity Aquifer), both flowing higher-than average.

These wet conditions, flowing streams, and increased recharge will allow us to avoid entering severe drought conditions for months to come. As always, despite these good conditions, we always encourage everyone to be mindful of water use and practice conservation. We know in Texas hydrologic conditions can change rapidly, such as the flash drought of 2011 demonstrated.