Technical Reports Document Library

Note:  This document was included for its  historical value but may have been superseded by more recent studies.

The study area consists primarily of the Nueces River Basin, which covers an area of approximately 17,000 square miles in South Texas. Several entities interested in the potential effects and costs of developing additional recharge enhancement structures, along with the Texas Water Development Board (TWDB), have jointly participated in the performance of this study. These four entities are:

Nueces River Authority (Authority);
Edwards Underground Water District (EUWD);
City of Corpus Christi; and
South Texas Water Authority (STWA).

Over the past several decades, increasing water demands on the Edwards Aquifer have raised concerns about the ability of the aquifer to meet these demands without causing social, economic, and environmental problems. The headwaters of the Nueces River Basin contribute about 57% of the total volume of surface water recharged to the San Antonio portion of the Edwards Aquifer. Streams crossing the Edwards Aquifer recharge zone lose a significant portion of their flow through faults and solution cavities in the limestone formations. A large portion of the runoff from the headwater area, however, occurs during storms which exceed the natural recharge capability of the recharge zone. In this Phase III of the Nueces River Basin Regional Water Supply Planning Study, the 19 recharge enhancement reservoirs identified during Phase I have been evaluated with respect to cost and environmental concerns.