WIMBERLEY, TX -- The unrelenting sun, triple digit heat, and lack of rain have taken a toll on a popular swimming spot in Wimberley -- Jacob’s Well. The spring-fed waters flow through Cypress Creek and eventually to Blue Hole.
However, Jacob’s Well has a zero flow, which means it is basically stagnant. The popular swimming spot is full of algae instead of people.
“With this low flow you've got a lot of sediment and muck on the surface,” said David Baker the executive director of the Wimberley Valley Watershed Association.
Baker said the drought has dropped the Trinity Aquifer several feet which has depleted the Jacob Well’s water source.
At Blue Hole swimmers are still welcome although park officials are cautious. Wednesday afternoon families cooled off from the triple digit heat.
“It's a great place to bring the kids," Blue Hole visitor Danielle Howerton said. "It's cool and refreshing and that's what you need.”
In June, the City of Wimberley opened the new Blue Hole Regional Park. It offers 126 acres near downtown Wimberley.
The group Friends of Blue Hole helped raised millions of dollars to buy the property and stop it from being developed. The success of the swimming spot depends on the extent of the drought.
“The water level is lower than we are used to, but the water quality is still very high,” said Steve Klepfer, executive director of Friends of Blue Hole.
Klepfer said water quality is tested constantly to make sure it is safe for swimmers. However, he said his biggest worry is that the natural resource will dry up.
“When people ask me, 'What is your biggest threat to the park over the next 50 years?’ I say 'water,'” said Klepfer.
With no rain in the forecast and continued growth expected in Hays County, experts say water conservation is key to keeping the Wimberley swimming spots.
“I hope this will stay here, and I hope they are planning right to make sure that it will,” said Howerton.
