The Recharge Zone Podcast

30 years, 1 aquifer, and 3 pillars to the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) mission - Manage, Enhance, and Protect the Edwards Aquifer. On this episode we celebrate where the agency has been and where it is going with EAA General Manager Roland Ruiz. Tune in as hosts Brent and Ann-Margaret recount the past with Roland, talk about how the agency has evolved, and what is on the horizon for the EAA, and the future of groundwater security for the EAA jurisdiction. 

Hosts Brent and Ann-Margaret welcome Sara Beesley, Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) Chief Development Officer and Executive Director for the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy (EAC), as she shares insights about her new role and gives an overview of the EAC's nonprofit work and initiatives. For over the past 10 years the EAC, a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization set up exclusively for the benefit of the EAA, has been supporting the EAA's mission to manage, enhance and protect the Edwards Aquifer.

Welcome back to another season of the Recharge Zone Podcast! Hosts Brent, Logan, and Ann-Margaret gather together to discuss aquifer facts, myths, and everything in between. Listen along as they shed light on the fascinating characteristics of the Edwards Aquifer! 

Explore the fundamentals of hydrogeology with EAA Principal Geoscientist, Logan Schmidt, as he discusses the world of groundwater with world renowned hydrogeologist Dr. John "Jack" M. Sharp. Dr. Sharp, professor emeritus in Geology at the University of Texas at Austin, is internationally recognized for his research on groundwater flow, karstic aquifers, urban hydrogeology, and the Edwards Aquifer.

The Edwards Aquifer Authority Field Research Park (EAA FRP) is a hub for groundwater-related sustainability and aquifer behavior research where EAA staff are demonstrating and evaluating various land management practices and their potential effects on aquifer sustainability. The hypothesis driving the work is that the practices offer potential for improved soil health, added soil water holding capacity, increased infiltration, and reduction of sediments in surface runoff.  Hear from Mark Hamilton, EAA Executive Director of Aquifer Management Services, as he shares all the EAA FRP has accomplished since 2019, and the future of aquifer sustainability research on this 151-acre property located adjacent to Cibolo Creek on the Recharge Zone of the Edwards Aquifer in northeast Bexar County, Texas.  

EAA Principal Geoscientist, Logan Schmidt, sat down with Dr. George Veni, Karst hydrogeologist, to discuss the cave features of the Edwards Aquifer that are mostly unseen and how hydrogeologists that study these caves gain insight into how the aquifer system works.  

Over the past decade, EAA General Manager Roland Ruiz has seen many initiatives come to fruition as imagination, innovation, and inclusion have been at the forefront of growing the agency into what it is today. Tune in as Roland reflects on where the agency has been and where it is going with hosts Ann-Margaret and Brent.

Paul Bertetti, EAA Senior Director Aquifer Science Research & Modeling, sat down with hosts Brent and Ann-Margaret to discuss amazing facts you might not know about the Edwards Aquifer!

On this episode, Brent and Ashley, our guest co-host, discuss the importance of ecology with EAA's Jewell Cozort and Casey Cowan. Jewell and Casey share their knowledge of ecology, and how the interactions between organisms and their environment take shape within the Edwards Aquifer System. 

Listen along to Brent and Ann-Margaret as they close out the year with an episode all about the EAA's 2024 highlights. The new year will bring impactful initiatives for our agency as we continue to carry out our mission of managing, enhancing, and protecting the Edwards Aquifer!