Megan Navarro
WIMBERLEY — Flow at Jacob’s Well Natural Area has started to improve, due to heavier rainfall totals, but the chance for swimming opening in the summer of 2026 is slim.
The natural area was initially closed to swimmers June 29, 2022, after flow dipped down to zero cubic feet per second (CFS), along with stagnation and algae development in the water, according to Hays County Parks and Natural Resources Department director Karl Flocke. That closure has continued to be in effect since.
Levels are measured using a gauge that is installed within Jacob’s Well by the United States Geological Survey. This measures outflow, height and other metrics, such as temperature of and nitrates in the water, to give a constant reading on what the conditions are.
These water levels are starting to increase, as there has been some return in flow after the area received heavy rainfall throughout the spring and summer this year, Flocke said.
“Typically, a rapid spike in the flow of water from the well has also had a rapid decline afterwards, but in general, what we've seen is after every single rainfall, it seems to be taking longer and longer for the flow to return to zero [CFS],” he explained.
A week after heavy rainfall in July, flow has not reached zero CFS, rather it is holding “pretty steady,” between approximately 1-1.5 CFS. However, average flow at Jacob’s Well is typically between 4-6 CFS, so the current flow is about a quarter of what staff would normally like to see, Flocke said.
“This is really the best flow we have had since 2022. In that four-year period, there have been a couple of rainstorms [and] good rainfalls where we have seen very short-term flow, but the flow we're seeing right now during the summer of 2026 is certainly the best flow we've seen since 2022,” he said. “It is still nowhere near where we would like to be, though.”
While the flow outlook is beginning to improve, the likelihood that Jacob’s Well will reopen to swimmers this summer is extremely low. Flocke said that there would need to be about four times the water flow for a long period of time — an additional 12-16 inches of rain within a month — to get to that point.
In the long term, however, that could change, the director continued.
“We are looking at having a persisting or even strengthening El Niño and that typically leads to an above average rainfall over the winter and so, if we do continue to see that above average rainfall through the fall, winter and spring, next summer, it could be a possibility,” Flocke said. “It really will just depend on how much rainfall we get within the next six to eight months.”
Jacob’s Well Natural Area is located at 1699 Mt. Sharp Road, Wimberley. Though swimming is cancelled until further notice, hiking is still available.
Learn more at www.hayscountytx.gov/444/Jacobs-Well-Natural-Area.
