AUSTIN, Texas — The Barton Springs pool and its federally protected salamanders are a key part of Austin’s character and community.
- Creek water contaminating pool
- Water from creek brings debris
- Pool may not open for Polar Plunge
“It’s the gem of Austin,” said Aaron Levine, aquatics supervisor at Austin Parks and Recreation. “It really belongs to the citizens.”
But because it’s part of the area’s natural ecosystem, the heavy rain of the past few days caused the water levels of Barton Creek to rise enough to flood over the dam leading to the pool.
“Barton Creek starts pouring into the pool above 600 cubic feet a second, and with that flooding water comes debris, mud, silt, anything from the greenbelt whether it’s park signs, street signs, anything like that,” said Levine.
All of that debris makes the water unsafe for swimmers, so officials closed the pool to the public, much to some tourists’ disappointment.
“I was sad to see that it was closed because I wanted to get into the park area, or the pool area—closer to see the geography of the springs,” said Kim Distin, a tourist visiting Austin from Dallas. “Whenever we do see the floodwaters coming down we call the biologists and we work with them to open the floodgates,” said Levine. “It helps mitigate the flood damage a little bit. And that kind of helps to keep the water low enough for the floodwaters to come in, but high enough that the salamanders have the flow they need to survive.”
Once the water from the creek stops flooding over, an extensive cleanup process begins. First, divers go in to pull out any large pieces of debris, like fences, logs, or tree trunks. Then, they use a giant brush to lift all of the silt from the rocks.
“We’ve got fire hoses that create a giant current in the deeper end that help push all of that silt and mud out of the floodgates and into the creek so that when the spring water comes back in, it fills the pool with that nice clear water we’re all used to seeing,” said Levine.
The cleanup crews use giant silt nets to protect the salamander habitats in the pool during the cleaning process.
“It’s a delicate balance to keep the pool clean, keep it habitable for the salamanders, while making it enjoyable and safe for the swimmers,” said Levine.
It’s just a small cost of having this gem of Austin.
“We’ve dammed off a creek to make an awesome spring-fed pool,” said Levine.
However, the city doesn’t know when the pool can reopen. After the flooding stops, cleanup can take anywhere from four days to a week or longer. That could affect the Polar Plunge, which is held every year on New Year’s Day. Make sure to check the Barton Springs Pool website for the latest updates.