The water was freezing when Plan II senior Raquel Rubiano dove into Barton Springs on a hot day this summer. She beelined for her favorite cave just beside the diving board. Here, she said she transformed from a jubilant freshman to a reflective senior over the past four years. 

“(In Barton Springs), I’m materially a part of the city,” Rubiano said. “I’m physically in the city, looking at the skyline when the sun rises, and something about that is really important.” 

For residents like Rubiano, protecting the Barton Springs habitat is an ecological and emotional priority. 

The Austin City Council approved the Little Bear Recharge Enhancement project on Aug. 29, which aims to protect Barton during periods of drought. 

The project will divert water from Little Bear Creek during times of high flow, according to a city of Austin press release. The water will be directed to a former quarry, recharging the Edwards Aquifer to boost flows to Barton Springs during drought. Over 20 years in the making, the $2.6 million project is part of a partnership between the Watershed Protection Department, Capital Delivery Services and Austin Water. 

Lindsey Sydow, Watershed Protection’s hydrogeologist, said the project was made possible by using an old decommissioned quarry. She said when builders were constructing the quarry, they mined a little too deep and hit the water table of the Edwards Aquifer, leaving it exposed within the quarry. She said a piece of Little Bear Creek also crosses a corner of the quarry property. 

“The vision for this project was to recharge enhancement by taking this quarry, which actually represents a risk,” Sydow said. “You’ve got this big hole in the ground where the aquifer is exposed, and you can use that risk that was there to put clean water back into the aquifer.”

Sydow said the project involves constructing a channel from Little Bear Creek to the quarry. She said it should be completed by early 2025. 

Kevin Thuesen, Austin Water’s environmental conservation program manager, said the Watershed Protection Department provides the science to help Austin Water locate and purchase protected land. He said the team’s job is to put water back into Edwards Aquifer when other projects remove it. 

“Our job (is) protecting the land where water gets underground that can eventually come out of Barton Springs,” Thuesen said. “That water feeds the whole aquifer, so the whole Barton Springs segment of the Edwards Aquifer is fed by these lands. While the water will emerge at Barton Springs, it will also be used by anybody using (it) in the aquifer.” 

Sydow said nearly half the land in the watershed upstream of the quarry is not urbanized and contains high-quality water without pollutants. The channel will also be constructed from reused materials. 

Rubiano said the project should make a more public announcement alerting people of the drought issues and encouraging people to save water. 

“I worry about relying on a diversion plan because that’s not necessarily teaching us as a growing population to be mindful of water,” Rubiano said. “It’s kind of like an out-of-sight, out-of-mind solution.”