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Wimberley Valley Watershed Association Purchases Jacob's Well - Spring to Become Jacob's Well Natural Area
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Great news for the Wimberley area and all of Central Texas!
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The Wimberley Valley Watershed Association
(WVWA) has purchased Jacob's Well, one of the outstanding
natural springs in the Texas Hill Country and entire nation. The WVWA
in unifying the properties around the spring has christened it the
Jacob's Well Natural Area. Jacob's Well is believed to be the
longest underwater cave in Texas and the primary source of water to the
Cypress Creek which flows downstream through the city of Woodcreek and
Wimberley, through the famous Blue Hole swimming area and into the
Blanco River.
"This is the first time since the 1800s that Jacob's Well and the
surrounding properties has been united in one single ownership," Dr.
Patrick Cox said, President of the WVWA. "If water is the very life blood of
our community then Jacob's Well is the heart of this entire region,"
Dr. Cox said. The WVWA will begin working immediately to
restore and protect the site. "Jacob's Well Natural Area will be
utilized for research and environmental education and to serve as a
model for how to protect environmentally sensitive areas in the Edwards
Aquifer Region," Dr. Cox said.
"The WVWA appreciates the help of the members
of our organization, our local partners and the Greater Edwards Aquifer
Alliance members who have helped us accomplish this acquisition,"
Dr. Cox stated.
The land acquisition is a result of a multi-year effort by the WVWA to protect and consolidate dozens of
parcels previous owned privately. Now the unified fifty-acre parcel
know as the Jacob's Well Natural Area will be managed and restored as a
nature preserve by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association.
In order to purchase the land, the WVWA obtained a $2 million loan from a
private, conservation-minded lender to purchase the properties. Within
the next two years the goal of the WVWA is to repay the loan and raise
additional funds for the management and restoration of Jacob's Well
Natural Area. The total current appraised value of WVWA's land is over $3 million.
Jacob's Well is a karst spring very similar to Barton Springs or San
Marcos Springs and is a perfect place to study and research the health
of the aquifer. The WVWA has already established a water
quality monitoring station managed by the United States Geological
Survey at the spring to study the water quality and quantity of the
aquifer. Realtime water quality data from Jacob's Well can be viewed on
the web; click here to view it at USGS.
To make a financial contribution to help save Jacob's Well Spring click
here to contact Wimberley Valley Watershed Association or call WVWA at 512-847-1582. To send a
tax-deductible contribution directly to WVWA, mail to WVWA P.O. Box 2534,
Wimberley, Tx. 78676.
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