A view on saving Jacob's Well: Much done and much more to do

Efforts to manage the Trinity Aquifer and preserve the flow of Jacob’s Well in Western Hays are more fragmented, more primitive, even though the threat to this spring and creek system is now clear

Note: Jack Hollon is a long time Wimberley area resident and noted water conservationist. For nearly a decade, he served on the five-member board of the Hays Trinity Groundwater Conservation District and currently serves as president of the board of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association. Many noble efforts have been made by various parties and interests to preserve Jacob's Well (including the nearly $5 million in investments by the county – the latest and controversial $1.7 million package deal officially closed shortly before Christmas). Still, no one has been able to say for the record that these efforts will "save" the well from going the way of so many other natural springs in Texas. There is much to this ongoing story that has yet to be reported. Coming soon, we'll add another piece to it in the RoundUp.

Hollon said this in a note to the editor: "One problem with the press release on the County's purchase of the 50 acres above the Well is that it may leave some with the impression that this purchase is sufficient to 'protect the well.' The purchase is necessary, but certainly not sufficient. To really protect the Well, i.e., to maintain the flow of that great spring, a number of things must be done in addition to physically protecting surrounding land. These will mainly include actions that 1) protect aquifer recharge that reaches the spring and 2) insure that a good part of our future water supply is met by sources other than groundwater in the Valley."

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By Jack Hollon
Guest Commentary

Hays County is blessed with two great spring-stream systems. San Marcos Springs, the main sources for Spring Lake and the San Marcos River, flow out of the Edwards Aquifer on the County’s east side. On the western half of Hays, Jacob’s Well erupts from the Trinity Aquifer and is the primary source for Cypress Creek – the heart of communities at Woodcreek and Wimberley.

Both major spring sites were important to Native Americans, and more recent European explorers found compelling reasons to locate settlements at these special places. They supplied water for people and agriculture and water power for mills to grind meal and flour, to saw lumber and gin cotton – in the days before fossil fuel engines and electric motors became our energy slaves.

As reported in Gunnar Brune’s massive Springs of Texas study in 1981, springs all across the state are now in a state of decline, with many having already been “dried up” by the impact of human pumping and land use changes. Hill Country springs and streams are especially threatened as the area’s popularity attracts population growth.

The San Marcos Springs receive protection and management from the State’s most powerful groundwater district, the Edwards Aquifer Authority. Backed by comprehensive legislation, funding, and science, the EAA manages this great aquifer for the benefit of people, agriculture, and commerce. It also insures that flows from springs along the eastern edge of the Hill Country are adequate to sustain endangered species and the health of ecological zones extending all the way to Gulf bays and estuaries. This task becomes ever more difficult as human population and water demand grow exponentially.

Other institutional support for managing San Marcos Springs comes from the presence and research efforts of Texas State University, particularly its Biology, Geology, and Geography Departments. The River Systems Institute, also headquartered at TSU, is another important player in managing these resources.

In contrast, efforts to manage the Trinity Aquifer and preserve the flow of Jacob’s Well in Western Hays are more fragmented, more primitive, even though the threat to this spring and creek system is now clear.

Jacob's Well

The drumbeat of increasing pumping, combined with frequent periods of drought, has resulted in these recent events: In 1995-96, very little spring flow, with dry areas along the Creek, prompted the creation of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association to rally support in preserving the Spring and Creek (that drought also led to passage of SB1 in 1997, which revolutionized Texas water planning); in 1999-00, flow ceased for several months in 2000, at the time the HTGCD was forming with a mission that included preserving sustainable groundwater production from wells and maintenance of spring and stream flows; and in 2008-09, spring flow ceased again, transforming Cypress Creek into a series of stagnant pools separated by dry stretches. Blue Hole was closed to the public in August ’09, and the Blanco River in Wimberley was reduced to a trickle over a dry rocky river bed.

The Texas drought of record, 1950–56, was much longer and more severe than any of these dry spells, but the Well and Creek kept flowing then. The difference: There was little pumping, compared to present water production from wells.

These clear signals from the spring-creek system and the importance of this resource to the Valley’s economy and quality of life imply that we cannot waste time in bringing intelligent effort and considerable resources to bear on the problem. And Western Hays has no institutions to match the EAA, Texas State University, et al., with their strong base in legislation, legal precedent, funding, science, research, and citizen action. This has led our local water conservation association to turn to Hays County for help.

The WVWA is a citizen-based nonprofit, organized to protect Jacob’s Well Spring by working for a healthy watershed and to help provide information and education needed for managing our water resources into the future. The urgency of the problem and our dire need for assistance and resources caused the Association to appeal to several other groups. Significant responses have come from the RSI (which now leads the “Cypress Creek Study”), The Nature Conservancy (involved in a major study of the Blanco River Watershed and in habitat protection for Hays County), and from Hays County itself, where support for Parks and Open Space Bond funds and for water resource protection has been especially strong.

The Hays Trinity GCD would also seem to be a natural partner in protecting these important assets, but the District’s confusing stance on the DFC process (Desired Future Condition for the aquifers in Groundwater Management Area 9) is causing local residents deep concern. Specifically, the District’s support for a plan to manage toward a “30-ft. average drawdown” in Hill Country water levels over the next 50 years and the eagerness to increase permitting in the middle of this complex process would seem to move us toward a future of dry springs, with streams flowing only in wet cycles.

Hays County’s leadership and support are absolutely needed if we are to save the Hill Country Jewel that Jacob’s Well and Cypress Creek represent here. Preserving the land around the Well sends a clear signal of our intentions, our resolve to preserve the Spring. The Jacob’s Well Natural Area will also provide a place for programs to do the educational and stewardship work – in conservation, in land preservation, and in making the transition to alternate water resources like rainwater harvesting – work that is needed if we are to leave the Cypress clean, clear, and flowing for future Texans to enjoy.