Recharged aquifer submerges part of Natural Bridge Caverns

Lowest chamber completely underwater

SAN ANTONIO – It's noisier and wetter than usual in the Natural Bridge Caverns.

Though water drips steadily through the porous limestone above, it's the Glen Rose Aquifer below that's the cause. As recent rains recharged the aquifer, which normally resides a hundreds of feet below the cave system, it rose up into the caverns and completely submerged the lowest chamber.

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"The last time we've seen it at this level was about a year ago," said Natural Bridge Caverns vice president Travis Wuest standing in the Castle of the White Giants. "We had some really heavy rains last May and into early June. Prior to that it had been two or three years since we had seen the water up into this room."

The water in the caverns now is about 50 to 60 feet deep, though it has come up even higher before. In 2007, the water rose 25 feet higher, filling much of the Castle of the White Giants.

Even now, the path in the chamber dips into clear water, which adds a dazzle to the already otherworldly beauty. The artificial light bounces off of the walls and under the surface as water ripples through the chamber.

The water has begun to drop, though. Wuest estimated Thursday the water was 5 or 6 feet higher just days earlier.

"It can come up maybe a foot or so an hour. It can also kind of go down at the same speed. If we get more heavy rains it could kind of just stay where it's at for a little while."

Without much more of those rains though, Wuest expects the water will retreat beneath the caverns in about a week.

In the meantime, Natural Bridge Caverns is offering tours of the aquifer.

http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com/%28S%28lqjet0z1b2ljmj55nt5ffj55%29%29/aquiferTour.aspx

 


About the Author:

Garrett Brnger is a reporter with KSAT 12.