Water resources of the Edwards limestone in the San Antonio area, Texas

The water discharged from the large springs of San Antonio and most of the deep wells of the San Antonio area comes from a common reservoir in fissures and solution channels in the Edwards limestone.

The water enters the limestone in a zone of outcrop along the Balcones escarpment, which crosses the northern parts of Bexar and Medina Counties and extends a long distance both to the east and west of these counties. It is estimated that the combined annual losses into the limestone from the Medina, Prio, Dry Prio, Nueces, and Sabinal Rivers and Hondo Creek may average as much as 150,000 acre-feet a year, the equivalent of a continuous flow of about 134,000,000 gallons a day. Smaller streams also contribute to the underground reservoir, and additional recharge is provided from rainfall on the outcrop of the limestone by direct penetration and by seepage from innumerable storm-water channels.