Water Levels

The District currently measures aquifer water levels in over 100 wells. This program is expanding to include more diverse locations within the Seymour Aquifer Pods as well as adding coverage in the recently designated Cross Timbers Aquifer.

Water levels and their change over time are the central piece of data utilized in the District for groundwater management. Water levels drop as a result of groundwater being pumped out for use by people. Spring flow may also cause a drop in water levels near the spring, particularly near the edge of the Seymour Aquifer Pods. Water levels rise primarily due to recharge from precipitation.

The District’s database contains water level data collected by the District as well as data reported from state and federal agencies. Much of that data pre-dates the District’s existence. The long-term information spans several major droughts as well as wetter periods and provides a wealth of information on how the aquifers respond to changes in climate over time.

A hydrograph shows the change of water level in a well through time. It is a good tool to visualize the water level trends near that well. For instance, if the trend shows water levels in the well slowly increased through the 1980’s and 90’s but began to decline in about 2000, that might indicate additional pumping is occurring in the vicinity of that well. The District’s hydrogeologist cautions viewers that other factors can affect these hydrographs such as, recent pumping, time of measurement, moon phase, and frontal passages.

An example hydrograph is shown below. Time in years is shown along the horizontal axis with the depth to water shown along the vertical axis. Each dot represents a measurement. A lack of dots represents a data gap where no measurements are available. It is not known what the water level was during a data gap, even if a trend or other line connects across it.

A map with the most recent hydrographs can be found here.