Protecting the Edwards Aquifer
The Edwards Aquifer is one of the most productive and consequential aquifers in America, serving as the primary drinking water source for over 2 million people in Central/South Texas Hill Country, including the City of San Antonio. The Edwards Aquifer also replenishes critical springs (e.g., Barton Springs) that provide habitat for several threatened and endangered species, including the Barton Springs Salamander (Eurycea sosorum).
Since 1992, the Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS) has been the only public interest legal group dedicated to the protection of the Edwards Aquifer, its springs and contributing streams throughout the Hill Country. With the rapid growth that the Hill Country continues to experience, along with the increasing threats of drought due to climate change, the Edwards Aquifer remains uniquely susceptible to multiple threats that could diminish its water quality and water quantity.
SOS, through education, advocacy and legal action, works to enhance local, state and federal regulations to protect the Edwards Aquifer from overpumping, overdevelopment and pollutant contamination.
Over the years, SOS, in partnership with various other environmental organizations and local governmental entities, has played a critical role in:
Since 1992, the Save Our Springs Alliance (SOS) has been the only public interest legal group dedicated to the protection of the Edwards Aquifer, its springs and contributing streams throughout the Hill Country. With the rapid growth that the Hill Country continues to experience, along with the increasing threats of drought due to climate change, the Edwards Aquifer remains uniquely susceptible to multiple threats that could diminish its water quality and water quantity.
SOS, through education, advocacy and legal action, works to enhance local, state and federal regulations to protect the Edwards Aquifer from overpumping, overdevelopment and pollutant contamination.
Over the years, SOS, in partnership with various other environmental organizations and local governmental entities, has played a critical role in:
- Prevailing at the Texas Supreme Court in upholding the voter-initiated and voter-approved Save Our Springs Initiative Ordinance, which protects Barton Springs by enhancing water quality standards for developments in the Barton Spring Zone;
- Guaranteeing federal protections for the Barton Springs Salamander by winning two federal lawsuits to require its listing as an endangered species;
- Securing over $260 million in public financing to acquire conservation lands over the Edwards Aquifer, and its recharge and contributing zones;
- Opposing the direct discharge of effluent into Hill Country creeks and tributaries and advancing alternative, on-site treatment options;
- Forcing compliance from numerous developers with local and state water quality protection regulations; and
- Helping defeat state legislation aimed at reducing local authority to adopt and enforce environmental regulations.