No swimming allowed at Jacob's Well for the third summer in a row (2024)

For the third year in a row, Jacob's Well, a popular spring-fed swimming hole in Wimberley, will not be open for swimming.

The swimming hole used to thrive every summer with visitors cooling off in its water during the swimming season from May 1 through Sept. 30.

But the swimming hole's water levels are currently nowhere close to where they need to be to allow swimming, the Hays County Parks Department announced Tuesday. Jacob's Well has remained near or at zero flow for about two years.

“Factors affecting Jacob’s Well’s deteriorated flow include a multi-year drought and the resulting increased demand on the Trinity Aquifer, which supplies Jacob’s Well,” Katherine Sturdivant, Hays County Parks Department education coordinator, said in a press release.

She said Texas has a history of drought but Jacob's Well doesn't have a history of drying up. It has reached zero flow six times in its recorded history, and all of those have occurred in the last 24 years.

“Now, we’ve got a lot more folks relying on that aquifer, and we have seen Jacob’s Well quit flowing for a sixth time," Sturdivant said.

Although swimming is suspended, the Jacob's Well Natural Area remains open to the public. Officials with the Parks Department will continue monitoring water levels at Jacob's Well in case there are any changes.