Barton Springs, the Austin’s beloved spring-fed swimming pool, is the crown jewel of the city – the soul of this soulful town. Almost a million people cooled off in the springs in 2018, and more than a million swimmers are expected to return in 2019….In recent years, hydrogeologists studying groundwater flow in the Trinity Aquifer to the west of Austin in Hays County have learned the Trinity is also a source of water for Barton Springs….Water in Hays County is connected to water in Austin. This is the reason that the city of Austin recently approved a resolution to oppose the Kinder Morgan gas pipeline, which is proposed to slice through the Edwards and Trinity Aquifers. It is also why the City has invested millions of dollars to conserve large tracts of land in Hays County – to limit development on the land in order to protect the water flowing over it and beneath it.
Read more from Vanessa Puig-Williams with Austin American-Statesman here