What Quantity of Water is in the Edwards Aquifer?

According to Gregg Eckhert, as published on his very informative site www.edwardsaquifer.net:


"Because of the complexity of the Aquifer system, it is difficult to narrow down the range of how much water we think it contains. One thing that is clear is there's a big difference between how much water the Aquifer contains and how much water could be extracted. Some researchers have estimated the Aquifer may contain as much as 175 million acre feet. However, that figure includes water locked up in pore spaces that are not connected to any other pores, so that water can't move anywhere and is therefore not available. A more reasonable estimate of 25-55 million acre-feet is based on effective porosity, which is a measure of the percentage of pore spaces within the rock that are connected to other pore spaces (see Maclay, 1981 and Ogden, 1986). Pores must be connected for water to move through the rock and to the surface through springs and wells. Additionally, one should not picture the Aquifer as a vast underground pool. There are undoubtedly many large caverns, but most of the water is in small pore spaces that are probably no larger than your finger."

Trey Wilson is a lawyer in San Antonio, texas, and the principal of R L Wilson, P.C. Law Firm. His practice emphasizes water and real estate-related litigation. To learn more about San Antonio Attorney Trey Wilson, visit www.sa-law.com or www.texaswaterlaw.com