Wilcox, Carrizo, Queen City, Sparta, and Yegua Aquifers, Central Texas: Structure and Brackish Groundwater
Study Summary:
The goals of the study are to (1) map and characterize the brackish parts of the major and minor aquifers of the study area in greater detail using existing water well reports, geophysical well logs, and available aquifer data and (2) build datasets that can be used for groundwater exploration and replicable numerical groundwater flow models to estimate aquifer productivity. The study area includes all or most of Bastrop, Bexar, Caldwell, Gonzales, Guadalupe, and Wilson counties and adjacent parts of the following counties: Atascosa, Fayette, Karnes, Lee, and Williamson. This study area was selected because seven water user groups recommended Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer brackish groundwater desalination as a water management strategy in the 2012 State Water Plan.
The objectives of the study are to:
- collect, analyze, and interpret thousands of water well and geophysical well logs;
- map the geological boundaries of the Wilcox, Carrizo, Queen City, Sparta, and Yegua aquifers and the bounding aquitards: Midway, Reklaw, Weches, and Cook Mountain;
- map the distribution of total dissolved solids in the aquifers;
- map the distribution of key chemical parameters of interest to desalination;
- map the net sand distribution in the aquifers;
- estimate the volume of fresh and brackish water in the aquifers;
- incorporate newly created information into the publicly available BRACS Database and study GIS datasets;
- prepare and publish study findings in a peer-reviewed TWDB report.
- Study Team Members:
- John Meyer, Andrea Croskrey, Alysa Suydam, and Nathaniel van Oort
- Study Start Date:
- Spring 2013
- Study Completion Date:
- Summer 2019
- Benefits:
- The study will develop data and a report that will be available to researchers and decision-makers to assist in the site selection of future groundwater desalination and aquifer storage and recovery projects.
Study Details
Participants
Study Investigators:
Texas Water Development Board
1700 N. Congress Avenue
Austin, TX 78711
John Meyer, P.G.
Andrea Croskrey, P.G.
Andrea.Croskrey@twdb.texas.gov
512-463-2865
Alysa Suydam, P.G.
Nathaniel van Oort
Engaged Stakeholders:
Fayette County Groundwater Conservation District
255 Svoboda Lane, Rm 115
La Grange, TX 78945
info@fayettecountygroundwater.com
979-968-3135
Gonzales County Underground Water Conservation District
P.O. Box 1919
Gonzales, TX 78629
greg.sengelmann@gcuwcd.org
830-672-1047
San Antonio Water System
2800 U.S. Hwy 281 North
San Antonio, Texas 78212
Stakeholder Meetings
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Stakeholder Meeting, Texas Water Development Board, Austin, Texas | May 6, 2013 |
| Stakeholder Meeting, Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District, Pleasanton, Texas | November 19, 2015 |
| Stakeholder Meeting, Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District, Pleasanton, Texas | April 15, 2016 |
| Stakeholder Meeting, Evergreen Underground Water Conservation District, Pleasanton, Texas | June 06, 2017 |
| Presentation at the 2019 Geological Society Association South-Central/North Central/ Rocky Mountain Section Meeting in Manhattan, Kansas | March 25, 2019 |
| Presentation at the Austin Geological Society meeting in Austin, Texas | November 4, 2019 |