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As the Colorado River’s reservoirs have declined, even larger amounts of groundwater have been drained from aquifers.

At the same time, prolonged drought and rising temperatures have sapped river flows and decreased the amount of water percolating underground and recharging aquifers.

Meanwhile, a company called Austin Water & Power wants to run a pipeline into Ransom Canyon’s ginormous aquifer.

“Our waters are connected. Our freshwater ecosystems, groundwater aquifers, rivers, wetlands and other waterways are all interconnected,” said Ashley Overhouse, a water policy advisor for the nonprofit group Defenders of Wildlife.

With little to no precipitation, the main water source of cities in the region are underground aquifers - rock layers that contain water-filled spaces - that were last refilled thousands of years ago.