Liquid Gold!

On this planet there are natural resources that we take for granted every day. Oil, crops, fish, metals and etc are all good examples, but there is one that is vital for our survival. Water is the life force that helps us and the planet exist. Each city, town, community, village, indigenous, or civilized has their own source of water. In our city of San Antonio we have the Edwards Aquifer or aquifer for short. The aquifer is an underground enormous cave reservoir that holds a huge amount of water for San Antonio and other surrounding counties. One Friday our class was graced with a guest speaker named Elizabeth Earnley. She is a member of “AGUA” an organization that oversees development for land over the aquifer called the recharge zone. The recharge zone is land where the soil is shallow and contamination to the aquifer is highly possible. Along with the Greater Edwards Aquifer Alliance (helps preserve and protect the aquifer) these organizations make sure the land developers don’t overstep their boundaries by polluting or building over the recharge zone. The city’s own water service “SAWS” conducts a series of steps before finalizing any development deals. Some of the issues accounted for are is this allowed in the recharge zone, is the site properly grandfathered, and a hearing before the city. In 1995 the city enforced a water quality ordinance that would help preserve the recharge zone. We even got in groups and did exercises to decide whether certain development plans should be built. All in all I learned a lot that day and know that our water resource should be top priority!