Surface water and Barton Springs

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Surface water and Barton Springs

• What do we know?
• After a storm
• The rest of the time
• Current study objectives
• TCEQ USGS study approach
• Additional research

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Storm response specific conductance
Barton Springs discharge
Barton Springs specific conductance
Rainfall begins
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Storm response Atrazine
Barton Springs discharge
Atrazine in Barton Springs discharge
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Non-storm conditions
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Proportion of recharge contributed by each creek
2005 (wet) vs 2006 (dry)
2005 Total Recharge 3,050,000,000 ft3
2006 Total Recharge 125,000,000 ft3
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Approach for current USGS-TCEQ nutrient study

• Routine sampling under range of bi-annual
  conditions
• 5 surface-water sites
• 2 ground-water sites
• Main Barton Springs
• Event-based sampling for three storms
• 5 surface-water sites
• Main Barton Springs

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Analytes of interest TCEQ

• Full suite of nutrients
• Major ions
• Trace elements (Sr, B, Br)
• Suspended sediment concentration
• E. coli

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Additional analytes

• 65 Waste-water compounds
• Fragrances
• Pharmaceuticals
• Surfactants
• N and O isotopes of nitrate
• Sr isotopes (U.T. doctoral student)

Three storm events and a selected number of
routine samples.
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Stream flow at Barton Creek
0.3 ft3/s 24-hr intervals Barton Creek _at_ Lost
Creek has higher SC (713) than Barton Springs
Specific conductance at Barton Sp
24-hr increase in SC 12-hr lag Perturbations
from rainfall, lowering the level of the pool for
cleaning.