The rainfall received is not affecting the aquifers
HEARNE, Texas (KBTX) – Even though we’ve received a lot of rain in the month of May, it is not affecting the Brazos and Robertson County aquifers.
Alan Day, the General Manager of the Brazos Valley Groundwater Conservation District, says most of the rain that’s fallen over the last month has gone straight into the Brazos and Navasota rivers.
While people might think the rainwater goes into aquifers, underground layers of water-bearing rock or sediment, they’re only designed to absorb 5 inches of rain.
Day says the rain has reduced the amount of water being pumped for irrigating crops and lawns instead.
”When someone says ‘Boy, it has been raining so much! The aquifers should just be recharging and should be full.’ That is false; it is simply not the case. Most of the water that has fallen over the last few weeks has gone into the Gulf of Mexico,” said Day. “There’s a benefit, it may not be recharging the aquifer any more than it typically would, but we’re not turning our pumps on as early either so, therefore, we don’t have the stress that we might otherwise incur.”
Day reminds everyone to water properly including not watering your lawn in the heat of the day and not putting down more than 1 inch of water on your lawn during the summertime.
If you need to know how much it has rained or how much you should water, check out bvwatersmart.tamu.edu.
