Quality of water in the Edwards aquifer, central Travis County, Texas

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dc.contributor.advisorTurk, L. Jan
dc.creatorSt. Clair, Ann Elizabeth
dc.date.accessioned2019-11-13T17:39:13Z
dc.date.available2019-11-13T17:39:13Z
dc.date.issued1979
dc.description.abstractThe Rollingwood area in central Travis County, Texas, is the principal zone of recharge to the Edwards limestone aquifer. As a result of extensive suburban development in the past 25 years, the number of septic-tank systems in the area has greatly increased. However, thin soils and fractured bedrock may limit the effectiveness of waste renovation in these systems. In order to determine if effluent from septic tanks has affected the quality of ground water in the Edwards aquifer, samples from wells in the area were analyzed for several constituents that may indicate contamination by septic tanks - nitrate, ammonium, chloride, phosphate, organic carbon, and total coliform bacteria. Concentrations of these parameters are similar to background concentrations in water from the Edwards, indicating that suburban development has not resulted in detectable degradation of the quality of water in the aquifer. During the study, water quality did not vary significantly areally, temporally, or as a result of heavy rainfall. The lack of degradation of water quality probably is due to (1) the thickness of the unsaturated zone (greater than 110 feet) through which effluent must travel to reach the water table, (2) adsorption of pollutants on insoluble residue in solution zones and on walls of fractures in the unsaturated zone, and (3) dilution and dispersion of contaminants in the saturated zone of the aquifer. Chemical analyses of water from Barton Creek, Barton Springs, the Edwards aquifer, and the Colorado River indicate that discharge from the aquifer at Barton Springs may be a mixture of recharge from both Barton Creek and the Colorado River. Chemically, water from wells in the Edwards is similar to water in Barton Creek, indicating that the creek is a principal source of recharge to the aquifer. Variations in the composition of water from Barton Springs correlate with the rate of discharge at the springs. When spring discharge is high, the composition of water in the springs resembles that of water from Barton Creek and wells in the Edwards. At times of low discharge at the springs - when rainfall, streamflow, and therefore, recharge from Barton Creek are low--chemistry of water at Barton Springs resembles that of Colorado River water.en_US
dc.description.departmentEarth and Planetary Sciencesen_US
dc.format.mediumelectronicen_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/2152/78373
dc.identifier.urihttp://dx.doi.org/10.26153/tsw/5460
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.relation.ispartofUT Electronic Theses and Dissertationsen_US
dc.rightsCopyright © is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works.en_US
dc.rights.restrictionOpenen_US
dc.subject.lcshWater quality--Texas--Travis County
dc.titleQuality of water in the Edwards aquifer, central Travis County, Texasen_US
dc.typeThesisen_US
dc.type.genreThesisen_US
thesis.degree.departmentGeological Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.disciplineGeological Sciencesen_US
thesis.degree.grantorUniversity of Texas at Austinen_US
thesis.degree.levelMastersen_US
thesis.degree.nameMaster of Artsen_US

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