hydrogeology of the eastern edwards plateau
TRANSCRIPT
NO, THIS ISN’T THE EDWARDS PLATEAU, BUT WE CAN DREAM!
HYDROGEOLOGY OF THE EASTERN EDWARDS PLATEAU
WELDON W. HAMMONDDIRECTORCENTER FOR WATER RESEARCH UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT SAN ANTONIO
AUGUST 29, 2012
Vasey’s Paradise, Grand Canyon
WATER MASSES AT THE EARTH’S SURFACE
Reservoirs Volume (in millions of cubic Percent of Total
kilometers. One cubic kilometer equals 172,052,358 gallons)
Oceans 1,370 97.25 Ice Caps and Glaciers 29 2.05 Deep Groundwater (700- 4,000 5.3 0.38 meters)
Shallow groundwater 4.2 0.3 (less than 750 meters) Lakes 0.125 0.01 Soil Moisture 0.065 0.005 Atmosphere 0.013 0.001 Rivers 0.0017 0.0001 Biosphere 0.0005 0.00004 Total 1, 407.8 100
Interesting note…..as a comparison we have over 3,200 times more water that occurs as shallow groundwater than in all the rivers and lakes combined. FIGURE 2. WATER MASSES AT THE EARTH’S SURFACE
(Source: Encyclopedia Britannica)
Population GrowthExample:
Kendall County Population Census 2010: 33,410 40.7Census 2000: 23,743 62.7Census 1990: 14,589 37.2Census 1980: 10,635 52.7Census 1970: 6,964` 18.3Census 1960: 5,889 8.6Census 1950: 5,423 6.8Census 1940: 5,080 -
Water resources may well be a limiting factor for future growth potential
FIGURE 3. KENDALL COUNTY POPULATION GROWTH
% Change from Previous Decade
Geology
FIGURE 4. SURFACE GEOLOGY (modified from TWDB Report 273)
Geologic Formations in the eastern Edwards Plateau that are capable of yielding groundwater (from oldest to youngest)
FIGURE 5. STRATIGRAPHY
FIGURE 6. GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION
FIGURE 6. GEOLOGIC CROSS SECTION
FIGURE 7. AREA STREAMS
FIGURE 8. STREAM HYDROGRAPH
FIGURE 9. USES OF GROUNDWATER IN TEXAS
FIGURE 10. UNDERGROUND WATER
FIGURE 11. CONFINED AND UNCONFINED AQUIFERS
FIGURE 12. MAJOR AQUIFERS
FIGURE 13. MINOR AQUIFERS
FIGURE 14. WATER BEARING UNITS
Groundwater Flowpaths
FIGURE 16. WATER TABLE AND BASE FLOW TO STREAMS