Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone

[L Roebuck]

Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone uncovered

Three hundred feet away from the MoPac overpass near William Cannon in South Austin is a locked entrance into the Whirlpool Cave.

With keys in hand, caver Julie Jenkins opened the underground entrance. She manages the cave preserved by the Texas Cave Management Association.

Jenkins gives people tours through the cave regularly. It's one of hundreds of caves found in Texas at various recharge zones.

Drivers along MoPac might be familiar with green signs that read "Inside Edwards Aquifer Recharge Zone," but not everyone is familiar with what that means, Jenkins said.

"Experiencing a cave is probably one of the best ways to get them to sort of connect this idea that the surface under us in the recharge zone is fractured and broken up and filled with enormous spaces that water rushes into unfiltered," Jenkins said.

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[itabot]

I went to another gated cave in Austin called Maple Run a few years ago. I couldn't get over how close the cave was to a residential neighborhood. There was even a retention pond for runoff. Its really sad that parts of Austin were built on limestone. I don't see how they can prevent pollution from seeping into the ground and into caves and the aquifer.

I was there before New Years during a rain storm. I was in Barton Creek under the Mopac overpass and could see the runoff from the road disapearing into the ground. The water was black-ish.