October 11, 2022 11:10 AM

EAA Declares a Decrease to Stage 3 Permit Reductions for the San Antonio Pool

San Antonio, TX – The Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) declares a decrease to Stage 3 Critical Period Management permit reductions for counties under the purview of the Edwards Aquifer Authority - including Atascosa, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, and Medina counties within the San Antonio Pool effective yesterday, Wednesday, October 26, 2022. At the beginning of this month, the San Antonio Pool was in Stage 4 effective Saturday, October 8, 2022.
Yesterday it was confirmed that the daily mean springflow for the previous day at Comal Springs was 111 cubic feet per second (cfs). The daily mean springflow has resulted in a ten-day rolling average at Comal Springs of 100 cfs which is above the threshold for Stage 4 within the San Antonio Pool, but still within the threshold for Stage 3. Additionally, the ten-day rolling average for water levels at the J-17 index well was 632.2 feet above mean sea level (ft msl) on October 26, 2022, which is above the threshold for Stage 4 for the San Antonio Pool. Hence, the EAA formally declares a decrease to Stage 3 permit reductions.
As shown in Figure 1, Stage 3 of the EAA Critical Period Management Plan for the San Antonio Pool requires Edwards groundwater permit holders in Atascosa, Bexar, Caldwell, Comal, Guadalupe, Hays, and Medina counties to reduce their annual authorized pumping by 35 percent. These reductions apply to all Edwards Aquifer groundwater permit holders authorized to pump more than three acre-feet annually. This includes industrial and agricultural users, as well as water utilities authorized to pump water from the Edwards Aquifer for delivery to its respective customers. All affected permit holders must also report their pumping totals to the EAA on a monthly basis.
Residents and businesses within those counties who receive their water from a public water system should follow their respective water provider's directives regarding water use practices. It should be noted that the EAA does not enforce lawn watering activities or other general water limitations enacted. Any enforcement of such activities or limitations is enforced by a municipality.