Swimming at Jacob's Well suspended for foreseeable future, Hays County officials say

Swimming at Hays County’s Jacob’s Well Natural Area has been suspended for the foreseeable future, county officials announced Wednesday.

The water has threats of high bacteria levels, other pollutants and poor visibility making it unsafe for swimming, officials said.

Jacob’s Well, a popular Central Texas swimming hole near Wimberley, contains the longest cave in Hays County and the second-longest fully submerged cave in Texas. The water temperature averages a cool 68 degrees year-round.

It welcomes thousands of visitors from all over the world each year. Roughly 30,000 swimmers visit every summer, and 100,000 visit the well and its surrounding park every year, Jay Taylor, parks lead at Hays County Parks, previously told the American-Statesman. The swim season, which began May 1, requires reservations.

The well is surrounded by about 80 acres of parkland and is home to many animals, including quail, roadrunners, turkeys and Guadalupe bass.

But as growth and climate change transform the area, the water gets murkier. And as the drought continues and the demand for groundwater increases, the well faces trouble, diving researchers have said.

More: Thousands visit Jacob's Well in Central Texas. But only these divers have seen its true depths.

Water flows into the well from the Trinity Aquifer, which is made up of three segments, Baker said. The segment that goes into Jacob's Well is the Cow Creek segment.

Cow Creek is pressurized, and it is where the majority of drinking water comes from in the Wimberley area and a good part of the Hill Country, David Baker, founder and executive director of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association, told the Statesman in July 2021.

Without a cap on how much water can be pumped out of the Trinity Aquifer to supply area homes and businesses, coupled with climate change, flow is low at Jacob's Well. If water were to stop flowing at the well completely, it could lead to catastrophic effects on the local economy and environment, Baker said.

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The recommended flow rate at the well is 4 to 7 cubic feet per second. The first time the well stopped flowing in known history was in 2000, and it has happened at least four more times since, Baker said.

And over the last decade, the well has been below the recommended level about 60% of the time, Baker said.

It is unclear when swimming will be allowed to resume, but Hays County officials said they are monitoring conditions daily and will update the public as necessary.

Hiking and other park amenities are still open to the public. It's free to park or enter the natural area.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Swimming at Jacob's Well suspended, Hays County officials say