The aquifer authority’s move to Stage 4 comes just over two months after Stage 3 conditions were triggered on April 4. Since then, the water level in the J-17 well has dropped by almost 10 feet.

The aquifer authority's move to Stage 3 this week was prompted when Comal Springs reached an average 100 cfs, but the drop to 99 cfs Thursday required a move back to Stage 4 just two days later.

That prompted lawmakers to establish the Edwards Aquifer Authority in 1993, though further legal wrangling delayed its full operation until 1996. The Edwards Aquifer Authority then spent years ...