How many aquifers are there in texas

Aquifers that have no storage can provide only the annual recharge rate. Overdrafting occurs when water is withdrawn from an aquifer faster than it is recharges. It is a significant problem in Texas. The consequences of overdrafting include progressively higher water costs, land subsidence, water quality degradation and possible water depletion.

Overdrafting can also harm springs and in-stream flows. If overdrafting continues for long, or if the aquifer has limited or little recharge, the process is called mining. Mining has caused land subsidence in the Houston areas and has allowed saline water to intrude on the layers of fresh water near El Paso. Sorry, but Javascript is not enabled in your browser! About Us. Texas Water. Conservation methods Desalination Home water audits Ranking water conservation strategies.

Groundwater information Abandoned wells Aquifers Drinking water treatment Groundwater conservation districts. What is stormwater? Water marketing information Acquiring groundwater and surface water Transfers and transactions Presentations Water quality trading Publications. Home Groundwater Aquifers. Aquifers Types of Aquifers Aquifers are geological formations that can store, transmit and yield water to a well or spring. Recharge Generally, water percolates from the ground surface through an aquifer's recharge area.

Overdrafting Overdrafting occurs when water is withdrawn from an aquifer faster than it is recharges. How much water do Texas aquifers provide each year? This area corresponds to the principal recharge zone for the aquifers. Groundwater encountered within this area is normally under unconfined, water-table conditions and is most susceptible to contamination.

Some water-bearing formations dip below the surface and are covered by other formations. Aquifers with this characteristic are common, although not exclusive, east and south of Interstate Highway Aquifers covered by less permeable formations, such as clay, are confined under artesian pressure. An aquifer is an underground layer of permeable rock or sand that collects, holds, and conducts water.

The materials act like underground sponges allowing water to flow very slowly through it. Water in the aquifer is called groundwater. Many aquifers are like reservoirs because they store water useful to humans and aquatic ecosystems. Groundwater may naturally emerge from the aquifer as springs.

Wetlands may form where groundwater reaches ground level. If groundwater drops below the surface, these wetlands will become dry and no longer be wetlands. Aquifers vary in size, from narrow to wide, and may be hundreds of feet thick. They may span one to two counties, or may stretch across thousands of square miles and several states.

They are recharged, or refilled, when precipitation falling on the land seeps into the ground. Aquifers give rise to Texas streams and rivers where springs form headwaters. People also drill wells into the aquifer to pump groundwater to the surface to use for drinking or irrigation. There are nine major aquifers Fig. A major aquifer contains large amounts of water spread across a large area. Minor aquifers contain smaller amounts of water spread over large areas, or larger amounts of water spread over small areas.

Most of the water pumped from aquifers goes to agriculture to irrigate food crops. The groundwater in some aquifers can be ancient. The Ogallala aquifer was formed about 2 to 6 million years ago. Groundwater can also be very new. Water that falls as rain and enters the Edwards aquifer near San Marcos can be found emerging from springs a few days or even hours later. Parts of the Edwards aquifer are like a giant underwater cave system.

Groundwater can flow like a river through large openings in the underground limestone and marble rock that forms this aquifer. Unconfined aquifers are directly connected to the surface and have water levels dependent on relatively constant recharge. Perhaps the best known unconfined aquifer is the Ogallala. In many places this aquifer is near the surface and recharge depends on water that collects at the surface in wetlands.

A playa lake is a naturally occurring wetland averaging about 17 acres formed when rain fills small depressions in the prairie. There are about 20, playa lakes in the High Plains of Texas. A confined aquifer containing water under pressure is called an artesian aquifer.

Karst aquifers are found in limestone and marble rock. Over long periods of time, limestone and marble can be dissolved by water. This can form large holes, channels, and even large underground caverns, lakes and streams. One of the most famous aquifers in the world, the Edwards aquifer is a confined karst aquifer flowing through limestone in Texas. There are many well-known locations where water from this aquifer flows to the surface creating large springs.

Springs are the places aquifer water flows to the surface. A pool and often a stream are formed by springs. Texas is home to more than 3, springs. Fig 7. Springs often form along faults. One such fault in Texas is the Balcones fault which runs from approximately the southwest part of the state near Del Rio, to the north central region near Waco along Interstate For a distance of about miles, this fault has exposed the Edwards aquifer creating many prominent springs Fig.

Most aquifers do not support aquatic ecosystems as we normally think about them. There is no light underground, so no photosynthesis by plants can occur. There may be no dissolved oxygen. There are some organisms that can live in such dark, nutrient -poor anaerobic conditions.

Microorganisms , primarily bacteria , protozoans , and other unicellular life, are found in aquifers. Some kinds of bacteria in groundwater are useful to humans. An example is denitrifying bacteria that remove nitrates. Excess n itrates are a water pollutant that may seep into the aquifer, particularly in agricultural regions where fertilizers or manure containing nitrates are spread on soils to enhance growth of food crops.

There is one kind of aquifer that can support a more complex underground aquatic ecosystem, although the life here is very different than we see in lakes, rivers, or the ocean. But these species are unlike any we are used to seeing above ground. Without these primary producers, these aquatic systems do not have a lot of nutrients or food available.

Available food is constantly recycled among the organisms, with only occasional additions from the outside. These underground ecosystems have a very low carrying capacity. They can only support a few individuals of any one species, and these individuals do not grow very large. The lack of sunlight has another consequence.