STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- A SOCIAL MEDIA GEM: Jacob’s Well became wildly popular before a record-setting drought.
- NO SWIMMING: The water-filled cave hasn’t been swimmable since 2022.
- HOPE FOR RAIN: Trinity Aquifer needs to rise significantly.
HILL COUNTRY GEM
HAYS COUNTY, Texas – To set the scene, picture a creek, with a large hole in the center. In that hole is beautiful, blue water so clear that you can see 30 feet down into the submerged cave. That water is a consistent and comfortable 68 degrees year-round.
It was that beauty that propelled Jacob’s Well to become a trendy feature on social media in the 2010s. The natural area, run by Hays County Parks and Recreation, had long been a popular swimming hole for the locals. But its beauty caught the eye of tourists as word got out.
“Back in the day, even like 10 or 15 years ago, I think Jacob’s Well was this kind of better-kept secret,” explained Katherine Sturdivant, parks education coordinator for the Hays County Parks Department. “But man, I think about 10 years ago we ended up in an in-flight magazine and things have just been really different since then.”
In fact, it became so popular that booking a reservation meant planning years in advance.
“There were year-long waits. People would try to reserve, you know, year-after-year and still have a hard time securing a reservation,” said Sturdivant.
The Hays County Parks Department instituted a reservation system to protect water quality.
DROUGHT HITS HARD
For as beautiful as Jacob’s Well is, or was, it is not immune to the massive drought that has overtaken central and South Texas. Jacob’s Well has not seen swimmers for more than three years now.
“It’s been since about June of 2022,” said Sturdivant, when asked when the last time they allowed swimming. “We opened like normal that summer, thinking we were getting ourselves into our normal swim season, but by the end of June we noticed something was kind of wrong. We have equipment in the well that shows us how much the well is flowing, and when we checked on that equipment, sure enough, the well was starting to slow down to a rate that we were not used to. We’ve never really bounced back.”
KSAT visited after May’s healthy rainfall, and it was clear that it has helped some. There was water flowing in the creek, and Jacob’s Well did have water. The issue is that it’s not sustainable.
“It really needs to rain out in Johnson City for us, which is where the Trinity Aquifer recharges for Jacob’s Well.“
The Trinity Aquifer has been hit especially hard by this latest drought. Springs, like Jacob’s Well, have ceased to flow for several years now.
Keep in mind that these waters are home to several species of fish and turtles that are also in danger. It’s not only a product of the drought, but also an increase in demand. Population in the Hill Country has exploded over the last decade.
“Jacob’s Well didn’t quit flowing through the 1950s like it did this time,” pointed out Sturdivant. “And that is because there’s just a little bit more demand on that groundwater resource nowadays.“
WHEN WILL IT FLOW AGAIN?
This is a tough question to answer. In theory, at some point over the next few years, we should see flooding rainfall. It takes several heavy rain events to recharge our local aquifers.
“I think it’ll be back one day, just maybe not on that timeline we originally thought, but Jacob’s Well is not dead and gone forever,” said Sturdivant.
However, droughts are likely to be more common in South Texas going forward.
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