Jacob's Well (Texas)

The spring is located on the property of Jacob's Well Natural Area (JWNA), managed by the Hays County Parks Department. The visitor entrance for JWNA is located at 1699 Mt. Sharp Road in Wimberley, Texas.{{cite web |url=http://www.co.hays.tx.us/jwna.aspx |title=Jacob's Well Natural Area - Hays County |website=www.co.hays.tx.us |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150501041507/http://www.co.hays.tx.us/jwna.aspx |archive-date=2015-05-01}} The {{convert|12|ft|m|adj=on}} diameter mouth of the spring serves as a popular local swimming spot. From the opening in the creek bed, Jacob's Well cave descends vertically for about {{convert|30|ft|m}}, then continues downward at an angle through a series of silted chambers separated by narrow restrictions, finally reaching an average depth of {{convert|120|ft|m}}. Until the modern era, the Trinity Aquifer-fed natural artesian spring gushed water from the mouth of the cave, with a measured flow in 1924 of {{convert|170|USgal/s|L/s}}, discharging {{convert|6|ft|m}} into the air.Dedden, John Eric. "The Hydrology and Biology of Cypress Creek (Hays County), a Subtropical Karstic Stream in South Central Texas." Texas State University-San Marcos. http://ecommons.txstate.edu/bioltad/14/Bond, Louie (2001). [http://www.visitwimberley.com/jacobswell/index.shtml "The Fatal Allure of JACOB'S WELL"].

Due to excessive pumping to meet supply demands by Aqua Texas (a subsidiary of Essential Utilities), the level of the Trinity Aquifer has dropped, affecting the flow of water through Jacob's Well.{{Cite news |last=Wilder |first=Forrest |date=23 October 2023 |orig-date=28 August 2023 |title=Who’s Killing Jacob’s Well? |work=TexasMonthly |url=https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/jacobs-well-drought-water/ |url-status=live |access-date=2023-10-23 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231023093735/https://www.texasmonthly.com/news-politics/jacobs-well-drought-water/ |archive-date=2023-10-23}} In the modern era, what remains visible of the spring is a faint ripple on the surface of Cypress Creek. The spring ceased flowing for the first time in recorded history in 2000, again ceasing to flow in 2008,{{cite web |url=http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/news_542.pdf |title=Jacob's Well Stops Flowing |website=Texas Water Matters|accessdate=2011-04-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20111002104141/http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/news_542.pdf |archivedate=2011-10-02 }} 2011, 2013 and 2022.{{cite web |last1=Horne |first1=Justin |title=Jacob's Well stops flowing due to drought, increased pumping |url=https://www.ksat.com/weather/2022/07/28/jacobs-well-stops-flowing-due-to-drought-increased-pumping/ |website=KSAT |date=28 July 2022 |publisher=Graham Media Group |access-date=28 July 2022}} This resulted in now ongoing measures to address local water conservation and quality. Hays County purchased {{convert|50|acre|ha}} of land around Jacob's Well in 2010, in an attempt to protect the spring from development. An additional thirty-one acres was transferred to the county from the neighboring Jacob's Well Natural Area (administered at the time by the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association (WVWA)), the new, eighty-acre (32 hectares) named the Westridge Tract.{{cite web |url=http://www.statesman.com/news/local/50-acres-added-to-jacobs-well-1136793.html |last=Price |first=Asher |title=50 acres added to Jacob's Well |work=Austin American Statesman |date=December 20, 2010 |accessdate=2011-04-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://archive.today/20120915122031/http://www.statesman.com/news/local/50-acres-added-to-jacobs-well-1136793.html |archivedate=2012-09-15 }}{{cite magazine |url=http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/5481 |title=Iconic Jacob's Well Saved from Development in Texas |magazine=Horse Back Magazine |date=December 21, 2010 |accessdate=2011-04-11 |url-status=dead |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225055550/http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/5481 |archivedate=2010-12-25 }}

The system has been explored and mapped by cave divers of the Jacob's Well Exploration Project and has been shown to consist of two principal conduits. One passageway measures approximately {{convert|4500|ft|m}} from the surface with a maximum depth of {{convert|137|ft|m}}, and a secondary one extends approximately {{convert|1000|ft|m}} in length from the point where it diverges from the main conduit.{{cite web|title=The Well|url=http://www.jacobswellexplorationproject.org/|website=Jacob's Well Exploration Project |accessdate=11 February 2016}}

The cave is also an attraction for open-water divers, some of whom are inexperienced with the specialized techniques and equipment used in cave diving, which has resulted in nine fatalities at this site between 1964 and 1984 (eight men and one woman).Express and News. San Antonio, Texas. p. 1. 19 July 1964.Harrigan, Stephan. "Down in the Depths". Texas Monthly. Vol. 8. pp. 97–99, 162-166 (1980).Paris News. Paris, Texas. p. 5. 25 November 1983.Tipps, Jonhy. [https://web.archive.org/web/20160821190456/http://www.karstportal.org/FileStorage/Texas_Caver/1984-v29-n02.pdf "Come Dive in Jacob's Well with Me"]. The Texas Caver. Vol. 29. pp. 23–31 (1984).

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{{Commons category|Jacob's Well (Texas)}}

• [http://www.jacobswellexplorationproject.org/ Jacob's Well Exploration Project ]
• [http://ecommons.txstate.edu/bioltad/14/ The Hydrology and Biology of Cypress Creek (Hays County), a Subtropical Karstic Stream in South Central Texas ]
• [https://archive.today/20120915122031/http://www.statesman.com/news/local/50-acres-added-to-jacobs-well-1136793.html Austin American Statesman: 50 acres added to Jacob's Well]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20101225055550/http://horsebackmagazine.com/hb/archives/5481 Horseback Magazine Online: Iconic Jacob’s Well Saved From Development in Texas]
• [http://www.texastribune.org/texas-environmental-news/water-supply/texas-debates-who-owns-its-water/ Texas Tribune: Texas Debates Who Owns Its Water]
• [http://www.texasobserver.org/forrestforthetrees/the-end-of-the-hill-country Texas Observer: The End of the Hill Country]
• [http://www.alternet.org/water/140088/behind_texas%27s_looming_crisis%3A_groundwater_scarcity/ Alternet: Behind Texas's Looming Crisis: Groundwater Scarcity] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010153638/http://www.alternet.org/water/140088/behind_texas%27s_looming_crisis%3A_groundwater_scarcity/ |date=2009-10-10 }}
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20111002104141/http://www.texaswatermatters.org/pdfs/news_542.pdf Texas Living Waters Project: Jacob's Well Stops Flowing (PDF)]
• [http://www.visitwimberley.com/jacobswell/index.shtml The Fatal Allure of JACOB'S WELL]

Category:Caves of Texas

Category:Karst springs

Category:Springs of Texas

Category:Landforms of Hays County, Texas

Category:Limestone formations of the United States

Category:Nature reserves in Texas

Category:Protected areas of Hays County, Texas