FINDING THE SATURATED THICKNESS OF THE EDWARDS AQUIFER

Most people in the U.S. take water for granted, it is there when you turn on your faucet. Need for water is growing along with the population, and municipal policymakers are starting to draw on more resources to supply that demand. Now policymakers are relying more heavily on groundwater and its use has become a controversial political topic, with every member of a community having a stake in the outcome. Well production is an increasingly significant factor in fluctuating groundwater levels. By determining the saturated thickness of an aquifer you can see if pumping rates are endangering the water level of the aquifer and by creating a GIS database that shows the pumping rates of active wells, you have a decision support tool that effectively aids in environmental policymaking. Utilizing this platform, policymakers can determine pumping rates that will sustain a certain saturated thickness, and have a sustainable yield that will allow use by future generations.