Texas Almanac, 1945-1946 Page: 166
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.66 TEXAS ALMANAC -1945-1946.
Lesser Ground-Water Reservoirs.
While the three foregoing are of far greater
Importance than any others, there are a num-
ber of structures that yield large quantities
of water. Among the more important of
these, according to Mr. White, are the Trin-
ity sands group of the Lower Cretaceous
series and the Woodbine sands of the Upper
Cretaceous. Part of the municipal supoPly of
Dallas comes from this source, and there is
considerable flow from it at Fort Worth,
Waco and intermediate points Another res-
ervoir is found in some of the sandstones
and limestones of the Ordovician and Cam-
brian of the Central Basin of Burnet, Llano
and contiguous counties There is a large
flow of springs from this source Still an-
other large natural reservoir is found in the
Lower Cretaceous rocks in Reeves, Jeff Davis
and Pecos Counties. and there is a large flow
from springs for irrigation notably at Balmo-
rhea and Fort Stockton Deep wells tapping
bolson deposits supply the city of El Paso.
Large Springs in Texas.
The greatest spring region in Texas is the
Edwards Plateau The springs of this area
are of two classifications (1) those which
rise at the Balcones Fault line immediately
below the plateau, and (2) those which flow
by gravity from the limestone along the
streams that cut the plateau surface The
largest of these springs, lying along the fault
line, and their respective daily discharges are
as follows
Comal Springs, New Braunfels, 300,000 gal-
lons daily. Goodenough Springs, near Com-
stock in Val Verde County. 97.000.000 gal-
lons, San Marcos Springs, San Marcos, 100,-
000.000 gallons, San Felipe Springs, Del Rio,
49,200,000 gallons, Barton Springs, Austin,
26,700,000 gallons, and Las Moras Springs,
near Fort Clark at Brackettville, 14,200,000
gallons. There ar e thousands of springs along
the streams of the Edwards Plateau, of which
the largest probably are the Seven Hundred
Springs near the source of the South Llano.
It would be difficult to estimate accurately,
but many millions of gallons daily are dis-
charged by the large and small springs of
this region.
The two most noteworthy springs outside
the Edwards Plateau are the Comanche
Springs at Fort Stockton, which discharge
about 30,000,000 gallons daily, and the San
Solomon Springs near Balmorhea. which have
an average flow of 24.900,000 gallons. A few
springs are found in the area lying immedi-
ately east of the Cap Rock Escarpment that
bounds the Great Plains on the east. Small
springs are found in large numbers through-
out the East Texas wooded area
Small springs are found in many places in
the Grand Prairie and Blackland limestone,
many of which flow intermittently. Small
springs are found also in some parts of Mid-
west and Central Texas
Just how much ground water is utilized
for all purposes in Texas is difficult to cal-
culate, but estimates based on careful obser-
vations of the Texas Board of Water Engi-
neers place the amount used by municipali-
ties and irrigation projects at 748,000,000
gallons daily. There is in addition a dis-
charge of many hundreds of millions of gal-
lons daily by springs, not yet utilized by
man except that these sources of water con-
tribute to the beauty of the landscape and
the preservation of wild animal and plant life.
Increased Use of Ground Waters.
The following table gives the estimated
increase in consumption of ground water inareas of large usage from 1936 to 1943. Con-
sumption in these areas was materially great-
er In 1944 than in 1943, according to the
State Board of Water Engineers. but detailed
records for 1944 were not available at time
of compilation of these data.Area, Aquifer-
Approx Ai erage
Daily Withdrawal Uses
(Million Gallons) of
1936 1945 WaterSouth High Plamins-Ogal-
lala formation 120 270 *"
Houston-Lissie-Willis-Go-
had formations and La-
garto clay . ....... 50 110 It
San Antonio-Edwards
limestone . . 85 100 t*
Katy-Lissie-Willis-Goliad
formations . 15 55
Jackson-Wharton Counties
Lisste-Willis-Goliad forma-
tions ............ .... 15 40
Winter Garden--Carrizo
sand. ........... 25 40 "
North High Plains--Ogal-
lala formation . 5 25 t
El Paso-Outwash (bolson)
deposits .............. .. 15 26
Texas City-Beaumont clay 7 15 ft
Baytown-Beaumont clay . 13 15 ft
Fort Worth-Dallas-Wood-
bine sand, Paluxy sand
and Travis Peak forma-
tion ........... ....... 15 15 t
Galveston-Beaumont clay. 1J 12 t
Pecos-Outwash (bolson)
deposits . ............ 10 15 t
Lufkin--Carrizo sand ..... 1 10 t
Total ................ 386 748
Ground-Water Conservation.
While the great demand on ground-water
supplies of Texas has not yet greatly lowered
water levels in any of the principal ground-
water areas, there is nevertheless increasing
evidence of depletion. In some instances there
is infiltration of salt water due to heavy flow
of wells. Waste of water is reported in some
areas through needless flow of artesian wells.
Faulty well construction is also responsible
for waste of ground waters in some areas.
More economical use of water by large indus-
tries is recommended in some instances by
authorities who have studied the water sup-
ply of this state.
A co-operative survey of ground-water re-
sources of Texas is being made by the State
Board of Water Engineers and the United
States Geological Survey. Records have been
made of the flow and water levels of 30,000
or more wells, and waters of half as many
wells have been analyzed.
Surface Waters
In the belts mentioned above, there is suf-
ficient ground water for irrigation and mu-
nicipal supply purposes. However, there are
large areas of the state that are dependent
upon the impounding of surplus surface wa-
ters Fortunately, these areas, principally
in Central, North Central and Middle West
Texas, have a topography that is well adapted
to reservoir construction. And the annual
rainfall is ample throughout this region to
supply not only present needs but the greater
demands of a future of industrial expansion.
The greatest average annual rainfall in
Texas is about 55 inches at points on the
Sabine and the least is less than 10 inches,
at El Paso: (See pages 138-145.) The average
Irrigation. tPublic supply. #Industrial.COLLECTION OF FINE *
** DIAMONDS
1IN THE SOUTHWEST SINCE 1877
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Texas Almanac, 1945-1946, book, 1945; Dallas, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth117166/m1/168/: accessed May 5, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu; crediting Texas State Historical Association.