SCIENCE SNIPPET: What’s an aquifer?

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — In this week’s Science Snippet, Meteorologist Stefanie Lauber introduces us to the “underground rivers”, or aquifers right below the Coastal Bend.

According to the United States Geological Survey (USGS), an aquifer is “a water-bearing rock that readily transmits water to wells and springs.” Water-bearing, or permeable, rocks exist below the ground in layers. Water underground can move or permeate through the small holes and spaces of this rock. These permeable rock formations can be made of different materials like limestone and exist at different depths below ground.

Here in Texas, there are many aquifers. The Texas Water Development Board (TWDB) monitors aquifers and groundwater across the state. The TWDB calculates that the Gulf Coast Aquifer covers an area of 41,970 square miles throughout Texas, from the Louisiana border down to the international border with Mexico.

SCIENCE SNIPPET: What’s an aquifer?

Water from these aquifers is retrieved by drilling wells down into the formation or permeable rock. This groundwater is then pumped out of the aquifer through the well. There are many factors that affect the quality of groundwater, such as depth, proximity to surface water (i.e. lakes, rivers, streams, and oceans), and contamination. The water within the porous rock below ground is replenished, or recharged, through precipitation. Rainfall or snowfall travels through surface water and eventually down into the aquifer.

To learn more about aquifers and the water cycle, check out this USGS guide. To learn more about the Gulf Coast Aquifer and other Texas aquifers, visit the TWDB’s website.

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