Carol Patterson

Term Expires December 2026

Carol Patterson has a long track record of advocacy and leadership on regional water issues, including service on the board of directors of the EAA’s predecessor organization, the Edwards Underground Water District.

She was elected to the inaugural EAA board of directors in 1996. After the initial two-year term, Patterson was re-elected to five consecutive four-year terms. Her current term expires in 2022.

Patterson earned her bachelor’s degree from Reed College in Portland Oregon. She also studied at Lycee Michelet, Montauban, France, Boston Museum of Fine Arts, and Rochester Institute of Technology. She and her husband, a Texan, moved to San Antonio in 1970 where she expanded her education with many courses in geology, Spanish and design. She worked as a professional calligrapher when their children were young, and exhibited her work in the United States and abroad.

Patterson’s community service on water issues is focused on controlling costs, preserving water quality and respecting the environment. She supports collaborative recharge strategies to enhance water supply and springflow in the Edwards Aquifer in a way that protects watersheds. She was a leader in securing Wild and Scenic River status for Lower Canyons of the Rio Grande. Patterson served on Mayor’s citizens committees on water, and opposed the Applewhite Reservoir project. She served on the five-year Edwards Aquifer Recovery Implementation Program (EARIP) effort and continues service on the Stakeholders Committee for the Habitat Conservation Plan. She is also president of Regional Clean Air and Water Association, and an associate member of the South Texas Geological Society.

Patterson has organized and lead numerous symposiums and forums on groundwater management and policy, authored publications and testified before the Texas legislature on water-related matters. In 2004, she successfully organized the drilling of a water well for a school for the blind in Karanji, India.