Discharge From the Edwards Aquifer Through the Leona River Floodplain, Uvalde, Texas

• Published in: Journal of the American Water Resources Association Vol. 44; no. 4; pp. 887 - 901
• Main Authors: Green, Ronald T, Winterle, James R, Prikryl, James D
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford, UK Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-08-2008; American Water Resources Association
• Subjects: aquifer characteristics; aquifers; calibration; Earth sciences; Earth, ocean, space; Edwards Aquifer; electrical resistance; Exact sciences and technology; floodplains; Freshwater; ground-water management; groundwater; Hydrogeology; hydrologic models; Hydrology; Hydrology. Hydrogeology; magnetic properties; overland flow; rivers; soil hydraulic properties; springs (water); surface-water/ground-water interactions; surveys; Water resources; Texas; United States; Edwards Aquifer; Chile, Atacama, San Antonio; USA, Texas; USA, Texas, Edwards Aquifer; rivers; models; interfaces; surface-water/ground-water interactions; ground water; hydrodynamics; North America; transmissivity; aquifer characteristics; surface water; floodplains; magnetic surveys; surface flow; water resources; Edwards Aquifer; ground-water management; discharge; water resource management; calibration; electrical resistivity
• ISSN: 1093-474X; 1752-1688
• DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2008.00187.x

Analysis of results from an electrical resistivity survey, a magnetic survey, and an aquifer test performed on the Leona River floodplain in south-central Texas indicates that ground-water discharge from the Edwards Aquifer through the Leona River floodplain may be as great as 91.7 Mm3/year. When combined with an estimate of 8.8 Mm3/year for surface flow in the Leona River, as much as 100.5 Mm3/year could be discharged from the Edwards Aquifer through the Leona River floodplain. A value of 11,200 acre-ft/year (13.82 Mm3/year) has been used as the calibration target in existing ground-water models for total discharge from Leona Springs and the Leona River. Including ground water or underflow discharge would significantly increase the calibration target in future models. This refinement would improve the conceptualization of ground-water flow in the western portion of the San Antonio segment of the Edwards Aquifer and would thereby allow for more accurate assessment and management of the ground-water resources provided by the Edwards Aquifer.