What’s happening?
Peace said protecting lands over the recharge zone—the area where water flows back into the aquifer—can be difficult because counties have limited capabilities.
“Most of the growth is taking place in the unincorporated areas, and counties are extremely limited as to what they can do. [However,] counties can pass an impervious cover limit, which we prescribe as, frankly, the best water quality measure that we could adopt to protect our karst water supplies.” Peace said.
Due to this unique threat, the GEAA focuses on the issue of water quality and advocates for stronger stormwater regulations.
“These water supplies [are] extremely vulnerable, because in these karst aquifers, pollutants can enter the aquifer with no filtration and travel really astonishing distances within a short period of time,” Peace said. “So you could have significant pollution events that would endanger public health.”
Edwards Aquifers’ water quality can be affected by:
- Stormwater runoff
- Impervious cover, like sidewalks, buildings and paved roadways, reduces natural recharge areas and increases polluted runoff
- Wastewater, such as sewage and industrial runoff
“We really need to have stronger regulations because what we're seeing is a trend of contaminants in the aquifer,” Peace said. “For example, on the wastewater side, the Edwards Aquifer Authority has been monitoring water quality at the spring flows—these spring flows are coming out from underground— [and] what they're finding is emerging contaminants, which are like unmetabolized drugs. [These are] things that would only be found in the wastewater stream, and those are showing up in the spring flows.”
The history
The GEAA formed 21 years ago to help push for protective measures for the Edwards Aquifer in the legislature. Originally composed of nine member groups, the group quickly expanded to 30 member groups within a year.
Currently, the GEAA consists of 61 member groups, which cover a 21-county region in Central Texas. Peace said many of these groups were created by the GEAA. Peace said that with the expansion, the GEAA has widened its mission from solely advocating for legislative protections for the Edwards Aquifer.
“Our mission includes preserving those groundwater supplies, but also surface water supplies, the flora and fauna of the region and the history and culture of the Hill Country,” Peace said.
Quote of note
“We feel like these areas are deserving of special protection because people rely on that groundwater for their water supplies. There's over 2 million [people] within the Edwards and the Trinity region. It's a lot of people who are relying on these water supplies,” Peace said.
What else?
As a water source for over 2 million people, the Edwards Aquifer has multiple organizations involved in its protection, including the Edwards Aquifer Authority and the City of San Antonio.
The Edwards Aquifer Authority role includes:
- Improving water quality and quantity
- Regulating water use permits
- Capping total water extraction
- Tracking and monitoring water usage
- Preventing contamination
San Antonio’s Parks and Recreation Department uses a ⅛-cent venue sales tax to purchase land under its Edwards Aquifer Protection Program. As of 2024, the program has purchased a total of 187,343 acres of land.
