Much of West Texas is webbed with concrete-lined dreams of now-abandoned irrigation works that aimed to turn the Pecos River Valley into a Garden of Eden. Unfortunately, whether due to robbing-Peter-to-pump-Paul well drilling, the inherent saltiness of water in these parts, or a river already rustled across the state line, all that is left are … Continue reading imperial forces →

Let's say, hypothetically, you want to sample Comanche Springs. Here are some quick thoughts about that endeavor. As the name suggests, Comanche Springs is series of springs that run up Comanche Creek: After going dry in the late 50s and early 60s, the springs have seasonally returned here and there since the mid-1980s. Over the … Continue reading so you wanna sample Comanche Springs? →

I've always loved art by the ancients, whether its petroglyphs (etchings in stone) or pictographs (paint on rock). I went to college amongst the rock art of New Mexico, and the drawings in the caves of Lescaux, France, made some 16,000 years ago, brought a tear to my eye when I visited them a couple … Continue reading groundwater and the white shaman →

A number of years ago when I worked for the Texas Water Development Board, I was at an all-day meeting with the Corps of Engineers near Denison, Texas, to discuss this and that related to water. At the end of the day, I, along with my co-workers, were invited to eat BBQ somewhere nearby. "No … Continue reading where the sun rises on mr east →

"You may say I'm a dreamer." Looking downstream from the pedestrian bridge. I traveled out to Fort Stockton to check in on Comanche Springs (and talk with the county about flood control) in mid-January. The springs started flowing again on Christmas Day and are now chugging at about 10 cubic feet per second, which is … Continue reading back to the comanche! →

So I show up to the Austin Geological Society's yard sale to support the tribe and bump into Patricia "Pat" Bobeck, who happens to be an expert on Henry Darcy, the father of hydrogeology and namesake of Darcy's Law. Pat and I chitchat, and she asks "Any vacation plans this summer?" "Yes!" I reply. "The … Continue reading darcy in dijon →

Ever since Peter Lake, chairman of the Texas Water Development Board, told me about Chuck Norris' water some three years ago, I've searched high and low for it (at least when I was passing through the area). Lo and behold, on a random pit stop, there he was in all his roundhouse kick glory: C-Force! … Continue reading c-force: chuck norris punched the ground and made the earth cry! →

postcard from my collection The most famous flowing artesian well in (mostly forgotten) history is the Grenelle Well in Paris. It wasn't the first artesian well in the world: that honor probably goes to the Egyptians circa 2000 BC. It wasn't the first in Europe: that honor probably goes to the Carthusian monks near Lille … Continue reading the grenelle well →

Neat postcard I have of an Ogallala well west of Plainview, Texas. It appears to be a flowing well, but that is surely a pumphouse behind that gush of water. I estimate the card to be from around 1910. I poked around TWDB's water-well database and found a well (11-15-504) owned by C.S Ebeling noted … Continue reading ebeling well near plainview →

In April 1757, a Spanish contingent of soldiers, settlers, and Franciscan fathers established Presidio San Luis de las Amarillas on the left bank of the spring-fed San Saba near present-day Menard. The fathers built Mission Santa Cruz de San Saba on the opposite bank four miles downstream to avoid frightening the Lipan Apache they hoped … Continue reading history (and surface water/groundwater interaction) on the san saba →