‘Unprecedented territory’: Edwards Aquifer to start 2025 near record low

SAN ANTONIO – The San Antonio Express-News says the Edwards Aquifer, the largest groundwater system in Central Texas, will start the new year with water levels more than 40 feet lower than normal in San Antonio as the region’s years-long drought continues. The water level in the aquifer’s key J-17 well will start the year at its second-lowest Jan. 1 reading ever. That’s an indicator that the region’s water systems — strained by population growth and drought — will remain under pressure in the coming months.

Without improvement, restrictions on use of water from the aquifer are expected to continue and potentially escalate, in an effort to prevent springs from drying up for the first time in decades. The Edwards Aquifer is a limestone groundwater system that stores freshwater below Central Texas. It provides drinking water for more than 2 million people in the region, including more than half of the San Antonio Water System’s annual supply. As the region continues growing, there’s increasing demand on the aquifer and other water sources — more straws pulling water out of the glass to feed a thirsty population. Rainfall in the aquifer’s recharge zone, to the north and west of San Antonio, replenishes water levels, while pumping water from the aquifer lowers it. But precipitation hasn’t been nearly enough to replace the water leaving the aquifer, and water levels have triggered drought restrictions that have remained in place since spring 2022.