Texas State University's San Marcos Campus Edwards Aquifer Groundwater Use Trends and Untapped Water Conservation Opportunities
As climate change intensifies droughts in Central Texas, water scarcity and availability are becoming increasingly urgent issues. Texas State University (TXST) is at the forefront of this challenge. The TXST San Marcos campus relies on the Edwards Aquifer, an environmentally sensitive and economically important water resource, for ~70% of their potable water supply and Spring Lake and the San Marcos River for non-potable water uses. The Edwards Aquifer provides water to over 2 million people regionally and is currently stressed as climate change and demand tests the regulatory flow protection measures established to sustain spring flows through conditions comparable to the drought of record. It is critically important to analyze TXST’s water usage and identify opportunities for water conservation to improve campus sustainability and support an ecologically resilient San Marcos springs and river ecosystem. Using descriptive statistics and correlation analyses, I examined relationships among water use and climate, and overall water use temporal trends from 2015 to 2024. The results will contribute to furthering our campus community response toward improving water conservation. This will help TXST maintain regulatory compliance, increase the resiliency of its water supply, protect the San Marcos springs and river, and enable TXST to continue growing and expanding its recognition as an academic leader in Texas.
water resources, groundwater, water conservation, Edwards Aquifer
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