Edwards Aquifer: Not Just San Antonio's Water Source

Edwards Aquifer: A Regional Lifeline for Central Texas

San Antonio is the largest user, but not the only city dependent on the Edwards Aquifer — one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world.

Major Municipal Users

Other Critical Dependents

• Agriculture: ~40% of aquifer use = irrigation (Uvalde, Medina counties: corn, cotton, vegetables).
• Industry: Food processing, manufacturing, power generation.
• Endangered Species: 8 federally listed species (Texas blind salamander, fountain darter, Texas wild-rice, Comal Springs riffle beetle, etc.) depend entirely on spring flows.
• Recreation: Tubing (Comal, San Marcos Rivers), swimming (Barton Springs), fishing — major economic drivers.

Management: Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA)

• Created 1993 (TX Legislature) after Sierra Club lawsuit (Endangered Species Act).
• Caps total withdrawals: 572,000 acre-feet/year (from ~700k pre-EAA).
• Permit system, critical period management (stages I–V), habitat conservation plan (HCP).
• San Antonio's SAWS: largest permit holder; invested heavily in conservation, ASR (Aquifer Storage & Recovery), desalination (brackish Wilcox), Vista Ridge pipeline (Carrizo Wilcox, 142 mi).

The Edwards is a shared, finite, legally contested resource. San Antonio dominates demand, but San Marcos, New Braunfels, Uvalde, agriculture, and rare species all have legal and hydrologic claims. Collaboration — not monopoly — is the only sustainable path.