Water Underground

Reader Alison writes:

What exactly is an aquifer? I'm always entering some kind of aquifer and don't know what the heck they are. But damn, those aquifers and watersheds, or whatever, are all over the place.

To summarize all of the definitions we found, an aquifer is an underground body of water. Ever heard of an Artesian Well? Sounds sexy, doesn’t it? The marketing departments of certain bottled water companies seem to think so. Sadly, it just refers to underground water that’s under enough pressure to be tapped with a well or bubble up by itself in a spring like Barton Springs.

Texas is just chock full of aquifers. Right underneath us here in Austin is the Edwards Aquifer, “one of the most prolific artesian aquifers in the world”. [Source] The Save Our Springs Alliance was formed in Austin in 1991 to fight against development practices that were viewed as potentially harmful to the Aquifer and, specifically, to Barton Springs.

We’re guessing the reason you always see signs about aquifers and watersheds on highways is a cryptic way of suggesting that you tread lightly. Human development causes all sorts of unpalatable crap - pesticides, oil from cars, cleaners - to leak into the ground and pollute the water in aquifers. This polluted groundwater will ultimately end up in peoples’ kitchen sinks: the other reason you may be seeing those signs. In other words, a more effective place for a sign might be in people's houses, on their faucets. It might say something like “You Are Now Draining The Edwards Aquifer”.