Phantom Spring Cave

[apitkin]

As many will be aware from social media sites, we (Brett Hemphill, Curt Bowen, Walter Pickel, Sepp Haukebo, David Brankovits and I) have been doing some exploration, video and science in Phantom Spring in West Texas with Dr Tom Iliffe from Texas A&M. The landowner and site manager is the Bureau of Reclamation who have made it clear that there will be no additional permits to dive other than the two already issued (the other permit is for the contractor who maintains the pumping system). Please do not contact them to ask about diving at the spring - they categorically will not give permission and you will be wasting your time and theirs. The site has great ecological sensitivity - there are two almost extinct species that are supported at the site by pumping spring water into the surface pool since the spring flow declined over the last few decades.

The BoR is also very wary of any publicity about Phantom Spring. Fresh water is very valuable in that part of Texas and any information about the location of the cave conduit may encourage nearby landowners to sink wells and further deplete the source water, which might make even the current pumping system untenable and cause the extinction of the endangered species. Whether or not this is the best way to protect the resource is a matter of opinion, but it is theirs that secrecy is best and has worked up until now.

We have got some video of the cave so that you can at least experience it vicariously, as soon as it is edited. Please respect the Bureau's wishes and do not contact them about diving there. We may have the opportunity to go back and do further work there, so please do not jeopardize that.

Thanks.

Andy Pitkin

[ianr33]

We have got some video of the cave so that you can at least experience it vicariously, as soon as it is edited.

How very kind of you.

[Dominic]

Keep up the good work. Looking forward to seeing some video. I love west Texas.