Watersheds We Help Protect
Watersheds We Help Protect > Texas > Piney Woods Springs
Piney Woods Springs, Texas
Piney Woods Springs, situated in Wood County, Texas is located within the Interior Coastal Plains Province. The Interior Coastal Plains are generally comprised of alternating belts of sands and shales, which dip towards the Gulf of Mexico and erode into long, sandy ridges. Pine and hardwood timber forests and numerous streams characterize the East Texas region. The annual average precipitation for the site is 42.10 inches. The local sand units have high infiltration rates and high permeability. Site precipitation, which is not consumed by direct run-off or evapotranspiration, infiltrates the sands and recharges the local groundwater aquifer. Springs at the site emanate from these sands and flow into Big Sandy Creek. The site is located within the Texas Water Development Board, Regional Water Planning Area D and Groundwater Management Area 11. The Piney Woods Springs are regulated by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality as a Public Water System.
QUICK FACTS*
Conserved Acres: 2,800
Total Acres: 3,072
2023 Withdrawals (Mgal): 266
% of Annual Watershed Precipitation: 1.27%
Water Stress: Medium
WATER WITHDRAWALS
The Piney Woods Springs are situated on approximately 3,070 acres in Wood County, Texas within the Lake Greenbriar – Big Sandy Creek sub-watershed of the Big Sandy Creek watershed (Segment 0514). The United States Geologic Survey stream gauging station 08019500 – Big Sandy Creek near Big Sandy, Texas is utilized to monitor total discharge from the watershed.
The 2023 calendar year annual mean flow for the gauging station is reported as 89.17 cubic feet per second or 667.0 gallons per second. This results in a total discharge past the gauging station of 21,034,512,000 gallons. The Piney Woods Springs 2023 withdrawal of 266,517,898 gallons represents 1.27% of this total.
SITE MONITORING
BlueTriton’s Natural Resource Team and independent scientists regularly monitor the springs, groundwater system, wetlands, surface water bodies, stream flows and habitat in and around our site. These monitoring efforts are designed so that BlueTriton’s operations do not adversely affect the groundwater, surface water, or the natural environment.
RECENT MONITORING RESULTS
The following graph summarizes important measures of the general health of the natural spring and groundwater system. The graph includes groundwater well levels of outparcel home site wells which have been monitored since before the factory became operational in 2002. These water levels are compared against factory production volumes and the cumulative precipitation variance for the same timeframe. The sustainability of our operations is demonstrated by groundwater well levels fluctuating within a normal range even with our withdrawal and a cumulative precipitation deficit of approximately 10.24 inches at the end of 2023.
DEFINITION OF A SPRING
A spring as defined by FDA is water derived from an underground formation from which water flows naturally to the surface of the earth. BlueTriton, in accordance with Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulations, utilizes boreholes (groundwater wells) to intercept and withdraw a portion of the flow of spring water in a hygienic manner.
SUMMARY
BlueTriton takes our water and environmental stewardship responsibilities seriously and we are committed to sustainable management and operation of natural resources. Precipitation, groundwater, surface water, wetland, and habitat monitoring will continue to be further developed as long as BlueTriton withdraws spring water here. Piney Woods Springs water withdrawals are reported to the Texas Water Development Board and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality. Water withdrawal operations have not resulted in adverse effects to groundwater, surface water, wetlands, or other natural resources.
RESOURCES & INFORMATION
BlueTriton is committed to increasing the transparency of our operations and water stewardship practices through our Reading Room.
Questions about Piney Woods Springs or the information contained in this summary can be directed to:
Water withdrawals at Piney Woods Springs are regulated by:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) as a transient, non-community Public Water System ID No. 2500059.
*Footnotes:
Conserved Acres represents the total land under management by BlueTriton that is where the natural environment is protected from development and pollution through the responsible management, development, and use of natural resources.
Total Acres represents the total land under management by BlueTriton, including watersheds and wetlands.
Annual Withdrawals represent the total volume of freshwater withdrawn from spring sources during the reporting period.
Water Stress is an aggregate measure of basin physical risk which combines water scarcity, flooding, water quality and ecosystem services status. Water stress is calculated for each region using the WWF Water Risk Filter Tool.
% Annual Watershed Precipitation means the amount of water that falls on an appropriately defined amount of land (e.g., watershed) that is relevant to a specific spring source in a year.
