The Edwards Aquifer: The Past, Present, and Future of a Vital Water Resource
The Edwards aquifer system is one of the great karstic aquifer systems of the world. It supplies water for more than 2 million people and for agricultural, municipal, industrial, and recreational uses. The Edwards (Balcones Fault Zone) Aquifer in the San Antonio, Texas, area was the first to be designated a sole source aquifer by the Environmental Protection Agency in 1975. The Edwards Aquifer also hosts unique groundwater, cave, and spring ecosystems. This 27-chapter memoir reviews the current state of knowledge, current and emerging challenges to wise use of the aquifer system, and some of the technologies that must be adopted to address these challenges.
Surface geophysics, Edwards and Trinity Aquifers, central Texas
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Published:September 10, 2019
ABSTRACT
Geophysical methods have been an important component of effective hydrogeologic investigations over the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers in central Texas. Various electrical and electromagnetic methods have been used to map stratigraphy and geologic structure and to locate buried karst features. Geophysical methods can also characterize faults and fractures in the Balcones fault zone. Six case studies across three segments (San Antonio, Barton Springs, and Northern segments) of the Edwards Aquifer show that the locations of buried caves and sinkholes, on all three segments, are best defined using a combination of two- and three-dimensional resistivity imaging and natural potential (self-potential) methods. Localization and characterization of the Haby Crossing and Mount Bonnell faults, which are known to be the most significant faults in the Balcones fault zone, are best accomplished by integrating multiple geophysical methods (e.g., electrical resistivity, natural potential, magnetic, ground-penetrating radar, conductivity, and seismic refraction tomography). It is noted, however, that other karstic regions could respond differently to different geophysical methods and require different primary geophysical methods.