Estimated Annual Recharge to the Edwards Aquifer in the San Antonio Area, by Stream Basin or Ungaged Area, 1934–2016
The Edwards aquifer in south central Texas is one of the most permeable and productive aquifers in the United States and is the major source of public water supply for Bexar, Comal, Hays, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. The Edwards aquifer also supplies large quantities of water to agriculture, business, and industry in the region. The major artesian springs of the Edwards aquifer provide water for recreational activities, businesses, and downstream users, and provide habitat for several threatened or endangered species.
The areas pertinent to the recharge process are the catchment area and the recharge zone. The catchment area consists of the parts of stream basins upstream from the recharge zone. Streams in the catchment area generally gain water (hence the term "catchment area") as they flow toward the recharge zone. As the streams flow across the recharge zone, which is essentially the outcrop of the Edwards aquifer, they lose substantial amounts of water through infiltration into the highly permeable, faulted and fractured rocks of the outcrop. Direct infiltration of rainfall also occurs in the interstream areas of the recharge zone.
Annual recharge estimates are based on data collected from a network of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging stations at sites upstream and downstream from the recharge zone and on assumptions related to applying runoff characteristics from gaged areas to ungaged areas (Puente, 1978). Runoff is affected by the distribution of rainfall, which historically has been estimated from a network of rain gages, some operated by the USGS, some by the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), and some by the National Weather Service. Since 2004, the distribution of rainfall has been estimated from calibrated NEXRAD (NEXt-generation weather RADar) data provided by the EAA. The annual estimation of recharge to the Edwards aquifer is part of a continuing program of the USGS in cooperation with the EAA.
This data release is formatted as a tab-delimited file (.txt) that contains the estimated annual recharge to the Edwards Aquifer for the years 1934 through 2016. The estimated annual recharge is divided into eight major river basins of the catchment area and for some of those basins, will also include estimates of recharge from adjacent ungaged areas.
Complete Metadata
| accessLevel | public |
|---|---|
| bureauCode |
[
"010:12"
]
|
| contactPoint |
{
"fn": "Texas Water Science Center Public Information Officer",
"@type": "vcard:Contact",
"hasEmail": "mailto:gs-w-txpublic-info@usgs.gov"
}
|
| description | The Edwards aquifer in south central Texas is one of the most permeable and productive aquifers in the United States and is the major source of public water supply for Bexar, Comal, Hays, Medina, and Uvalde Counties. The Edwards aquifer also supplies large quantities of water to agriculture, business, and industry in the region. The major artesian springs of the Edwards aquifer provide water for recreational activities, businesses, and downstream users, and provide habitat for several threatened or endangered species. The areas pertinent to the recharge process are the catchment area and the recharge zone. The catchment area consists of the parts of stream basins upstream from the recharge zone. Streams in the catchment area generally gain water (hence the term "catchment area") as they flow toward the recharge zone. As the streams flow across the recharge zone, which is essentially the outcrop of the Edwards aquifer, they lose substantial amounts of water through infiltration into the highly permeable, faulted and fractured rocks of the outcrop. Direct infiltration of rainfall also occurs in the interstream areas of the recharge zone. Annual recharge estimates are based on data collected from a network of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) streamflow-gaging stations at sites upstream and downstream from the recharge zone and on assumptions related to applying runoff characteristics from gaged areas to ungaged areas (Puente, 1978). Runoff is affected by the distribution of rainfall, which historically has been estimated from a network of rain gages, some operated by the USGS, some by the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA), and some by the National Weather Service. Since 2004, the distribution of rainfall has been estimated from calibrated NEXRAD (NEXt-generation weather RADar) data provided by the EAA. The annual estimation of recharge to the Edwards aquifer is part of a continuing program of the USGS in cooperation with the EAA. This data release is formatted as a tab-delimited file (.txt) that contains the estimated annual recharge to the Edwards Aquifer for the years 1934 through 2016. The estimated annual recharge is divided into eight major river basins of the catchment area and for some of those basins, will also include estimates of recharge from adjacent ungaged areas. |
| distribution |
[
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Digital Data",
"format": "XML",
"accessURL": "https://dx.doi.org/10.5066/F7NS0S39",
"mediaType": "application/http",
"description": "Landing page for access to the data"
},
{
"@type": "dcat:Distribution",
"title": "Original Metadata",
"format": "XML",
"mediaType": "text/xml",
"description": "The metadata original format",
"downloadURL": "https://data.usgs.gov/datacatalog/metadata/USGS.58b8a643e4b01ccd5500c590.xml"
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|
| identifier | http://datainventory.doi.gov/id/dataset/USGS_58b8a643e4b01ccd5500c590 |
| keyword |
[
"08168500 Guadalupe River above Comal River at New Braunfels, Tex.",
"08171000 Blanco River at Wimberley, Tex.",
"08171300 Blanco River near Kyle, Tex.",
"08173000 Plum Creek near Luling, Tex.",
"08178700 Salado Creek at Loop 410, San Antonio, Tex.",
"08179500 Medina Lake near San Antonio, Tex.",
"08183900 Cibolo Creek near Boerne, Tex.",
"08185000 Cibolo Creek at Selma, Tex.",
"08190000 Nueces River at Laguna, Tex.",
"08190500 W Nueces River near Brackettville, Tex.",
"08192000 Nueces River below Uvalde, Tex.",
"08195000 Frio River at Concan, Tex.",
"08196000 Dry Frio River near Reagan Wells, Tex.",
"08197500 Frio River below Dry Frio River near Uvalde, Tex.",
"08198000 Sabinal River near Sabinal, Tex.",
"08198500 Sabinal River at Sabinal, Tex.",
"08200000 Hondo Creek near Tarpley, Tex.",
"08201500 Seco Creek at Miller Rh near Utopia, Tex.",
"08202700 Seco Creek at Rowe Rh near D'Hanis, Tex.",
"Edwards Aquifer Catchment Area",
"Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone",
"Edwards aquifer",
"San Antonio, Texas",
"USGS:58b8a643e4b01ccd5500c590",
"groundwater",
"recharge"
]
|
| modified | 2020-08-27T00:00:00Z |
| publisher |
{
"name": "U.S. Geological Survey",
"@type": "org:Organization"
}
|
| spatial | -100.47, 29.17, -97.79, 30.14 |
| theme |
[
"Geospatial"
]
|
| title | Estimated Annual Recharge to the Edwards Aquifer in the San Antonio Area, by Stream Basin or Ungaged Area, 1934–2016 |
