Many wells in the Edwards Aquifer confined zone are (or were) free flowing, particularly during periods of greater rainfall. An extreme example of this is the Catfish Farm well, which was one of the world’s largest free‑flowing wells capable of flowing on the order of 2.5 m3/sec (40,000 gallons per minute). This well is now closed, but this video demonstrates both the great productivity resulting from the high permeability and some of the political issues that arise when dealing with the Edwards Aquifer. (27 minutes)
A discussion of the material in this video is provided in Section 4.1.1 ‘Discharge’ of the Groundwater Project book ‘The Edwards Aquifer’, the PDF can be downloaded or the online version can be read at that link.
Citation: Edwards Aquifer Authority (1991). Karst: The Catfish Farm Artesian Well – Productivity and Political Issues of the Edwards Aquifer. Video of The Groundwater Project, Guelph, Ontario, Canada.