‘It kind of is the lifeblood of Wimberley’
WIMBERLEY — After the county’s announcement that swimming is closed for the foreseeable future, Jacob’s Well remains at zero flow.
The 140-foot-deep natural spring has become a popular recreational destination for both residents and out-of-town tourists over the years. Typically, hundreds would pack up their cars to visit Jacob’s Well’s constant 68-degree water to cool off in the Texas summer heat.
However, Hays County officials have closed Jacob’s Well for the spring and summer swimming seasons due to drought conditions.
“By about the middle of the summer last year, we noticed that the drought had a pretty bad impact on the outflow of Jacob’s Well,” said Katherine Sturdivant, parks education coordinator for the Hays County Parks Department. “We did hit a zero outflow for an extended period of time last summer, which would be the fifth very long period of time that it sat at zero. Since then, we really have not noticed much of a change. There have been some slight increases in outflow when we have rainier months, like back in November, however, it really hasn’t come back to the values that we have seen this time of year in previous years.'
This time last year, the well’s streamflow was 3.71 cubic feet per second, according to the U.S. Geological Survey. On Monday, March 13, the flow was zero.
The spring at Jacob’s Well is supplied primarily by the Trinity Aquifer — which has historically taken longer to recharge compared to the Edwards Aquifer due to its greater depth.
“These aquifers are large storage areas underground and these are recharged by rainfall,” Sturdivant said. “By the end of last year, we were about 15 inches [of rain] under budget. We usually get [more than] 30 inches of rain and we didn’t get 15 inches of that. So, all of that water did not go down into the aquifers to recharge those groundwater levels. Our groundwater levels are much lower than they should be and that’s causing an impact on a lot of the springs in the area.”
Warm weather and drought conditions are not new to Texas. Sturdivant spoke of the severe drought of record that lasted for several years in the 1950s, causing people to give up farming and ranching in rural areas and move into larger cities.
“Jacob’s Well did not stop flowing then, though it has now five extended periods of time since the year 2000. We have noticed an increase in the frequency of these events and the fact is that the drought hasn’t really changed,” Sturdivant explained. “We experience this type of drought pretty frequently in Texas. We have to look at other things that have changed. The biggest thing is the number of people who now live here in Central Texas as compared to the 1950s.”
She added that compared to the 1950s, there is a higher demand now for groundwater because there are more people who operate off of wells for both private residences and businesses.
Brian Smith, the principal hydrogeologist for the Barton Springs Edwards Aquifer District Conservation District, said that it’s difficult to predict how much rainfall is needed to sustain the flow from Jacob’s Well for extended periods of time.
“With the current drought conditions, small amounts of rain in the area bring about increased flow from the spring. However, shortly after the rain the amount of flow drops and then flow ceases altogether. For flow to get to average levels, a significant amount of rain is needed. That could be an extended period of above average rainfall or a significant storm that might bring several inches of rain or perhaps 5 to 10 inches of rain,” Smith said.
Sturdivant said it was difficult to make the decision to close swimming for the public because she knows how much everyone is drawn to Jacob’s Well.
“It is kind of the lifeblood of Wimberley. Cypress Creek flows right through the middle and attracts a lot of tourists and other people over the summer. With Jacob’s Well’s outflow so low, it’s obviously having a trickle-down impact in the city of Wimberley and it’s hard to see. It’s a really beautiful site. People pride themselves on living near something like this, a really beautiful ecologically important jewel of the city almost. There’s just been a lot of sad feelings around the situation.”
Swimmers are welcome to visit Blue Hole Regional Park — a natural, spring-fed swimming hole — in Wimberley. Richard Shaver, director of Parks and Recreation for the city of Wimberley, ensures that the conditions of Blue Hole are different from that of Jacob’s Well.
“Jacob's Well is the primary source of water flow for Cypress Creek, but it is not the sole source. Additional springs or seeps have been theorized to exist in deep pockets of the creek like Blue Hole which is why we have different conditions than Jacob's Well,” Shaver said.
Blue Hole is open every day during the swimming season — May 1 through Labor Day — and open only on weekends in September. Reservations can now be made at bluehole.checkfront.com/reserve.
Hays County officials will continue to update the public on the state of Jacob’s Well. Tune into the Facebook page at www.facebook.com/JacobsWellOfficial.
