Edwards Aquifer Conservancy

05/19/2026

Last week, the joined with other nonprofits to celebrate the success of the Champions fore Charity. Valero matched donations made during the campaign season at 7%, resulting in a $10,000 donation to the EAC. Thank you to everyone who donated over the last few months and helped us reach our goal!

05/12/2026

Join the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy for Bedrock to Bottle - an engaging evening of networking, wine tasting, and light bites, focused on wines from limestone-rich regions. Featuring Lewis Dickson of La Cruz de Comal Wines, Ltd. Authentic Texas Hill Country Wine, discussing the attributes of wine grown in limestone-rich regions.

This program is a joint effort by the AOCSATX - Art of Cellaring and the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy, intended to bring awareness to the nonprofit organization and its mission to support the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) which manages, enhances, and protects the Edwards Aquifer system, which provides water for drinking and other essential purposes for 2.5 million Texans.

Although this is a free event, a $25 donation per ticket is suggested and registration is required. Visit our 🔗 in the comments for tickets! 🎟️

05/12/2026

Have a Texan by Nature Tuesday today at 10 AM CST by joining their (Texas Water Action Collaborative) bi-monthly meeting to hear about conservation projects seeking funding from Sara Beesley, EAA Chief Development Officer, and Austin Davis, Watershed Monitoring Supervisor at San Antonio River Authority!
RSVP here → https://bit.ly/TxWACMeet5

04/29/2026

Last, but not least, meet Board President Abe Salinas.

Abe Salinas, PE, CFM, serves as Board President of the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy, where he provides a perspective informed by his technical background on the interaction between land use, drainage infrastructure, flood risk, and groundwater protection in sensitive recharge areas. He holds this position through his role as a Director on the Edwards Aquifer Authority Board, a seat he has held since 2018.

A civil engineer and stormwater professional with 20 years of experience across Texas, Abe’s work is concentrated in Central and South Texas. His expertise includes watershed planning, flood mitigation, floodplain management, and drainage design, which influence runoff, infiltration, and recharge conditions that are critical to protecting groundwater quality in the Edwards Aquifer region.

04/22/2026

Every day is Earth Day when you depend on the Edwards Aquifer for your water. 💧

Support the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy this Earth Day at eaconservancy.org. Link in 🔗 comments. Help us enhance, protect, and conserve this precious resource.

04/20/2026

Thank you to the Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) for their opportunity to chat about the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy! Download and listen today.

🆕The Recharge Zone Podcast | Season 7, Episode 2 | The Edwards Aquifer Conservancy

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.

Listen here or on your favorite podcast hosting platform: https://open.spotify.com/episode/7ag96uEaiIWIUjylSa31HE?si=3KcaeEtRTuewvWqbELxAUQ

04/17/2026

Meet Carol Patterson, Secretary of the Edwards Aquifer Conservancy Board of Directors.

Carol Patterson has a long track record of advocacy and leadership on regional water issues, including service on the board of directors of the EAA’s predecessor organization, the Edwards Underground Water District.

She was elected to the inaugural Edwards Aquifer Authority (EAA) board of directors in 1996. After the initial two-year term, Patterson was re-elected to five consecutive four-year terms.

Patterson earned her bachelor’s degree from Reed College in Portland Oregon. She also studied at Lycee Michelet, Montauban, France, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and Rochester Institute of Technology. She and her husband, a Texan, moved to San Antonio in 1970 where she expanded her education with many courses in geology, Spanish and design. She worked as a professional calligrapher when their children were young, and exhibited her work in the United States and abroad.

Patterson’s community service on water issues is focused on controlling costs, preserving water quality and respecting the environment. She supports collaborative recharge strategies to enhance water supply and springflow in the Edwards Aquifer in a way that protects watersheds. She was a leader in securing Wild and Scenic River status for Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande. Patterson served on Mayor’s citizens committees on water, and opposed the Applewhite Reservoir project. She served on the five-year Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program (EARIP) effort and continues service on the Stakeholders Committee for the Habitat Conservation Plan. She is also president of Regional Clean Air and Water Association, and an associate member of the South Texas Geological Society.

Patterson has organized and lead numerous symposiums and forums on groundwater management and policy, authored publications and testified before the Texas legislature on water-related matters. In 2004, she successfully organized the drilling of a water well for a school for the blind in Karanji, India.

04/10/2026

04/08/2026

Meet EAC Board Member, Benjamin Youngblood III.

Mr. Youngblood, a resident of San Antonio, is an independent business attorney practicing corporate, real estate, and oil & gas law and holds a Juris Doctor degree from the University of Texas, and a degree in Economics, magna cm laude, from Texas A&M University.
Mr. Youngblood has a long history of being interested in water policy and water law, and their application to lives of the people in Texas. He believes strongly in sound science and that it cannot be ignored when making water policy. He has worked to make the EAA the most important source for scientific research and information on the functioning of the Edwards Aquifer. With that in mind he recognizes that the aquifer is a vital resource which must be preserved for both the people of today and for our children and grandchildren.
Mr. Youngblood has taught as an adjunct professor at ST. Mary’s University School of Law. He has served on the boards of directors of: Mission Pharmacal Company (a multi-national pharmaceutical manufacturer); TMI, (a multi-state corporate trust company); Edwin M. Jones Oil Company (a diversified independent oil & gas producer); and Airport Galleria Land Company (a commercial real estate development company). Mr. Youngblood has current and past service on a variety of civic, non-profit, and charitable boards, including the Edwards Aquifer Authority (vice-chair), San Antonio Ethics Review Board (Vice-Chair), San Antonio Planning Commission Technical Advisory Committee, San Antonio Water System Citizen's Advisory Panel (Vice-Chair), San Antonio Water System Rate Structure Committee, San Antonio Water Policy Group, San Antonio City Council Redistricting Commission, Northside Neighborhoods for Organized Development (NNOD) (Past President), Northside ISD Bond Committee, and the Down Syndrome Association. He has taught programs in Astronomy, Freshwater Ecology, and Sailing.