As Ogalalla Aquifer Summit Meets, Some SW Kansas Wells Show Fall Of Up To 5 Feet In 2011

[hatrack]

EDIT

The focus at the summit hosted by Gov. Sam Brownback was how to extend the life of the aquifer, for its loss would be a major economic issue for the state. Roughly 94 percent of the groundwater is used for irrigation, which supports livestock, meatpacking, ethanol and other agricultural industries in Kansas. At the summit, the governor took aim at the state’s “use it or lose it” water requirements, which he said are outdated and need to be eliminated.

Under the law, farmers’ water rights could be considered abandoned if they don’t use their water. State officials have said that often prompts farmers to irrigate when it isn’t necessary. “Without Ogallala water, agriculture and all of its related businesses could not be sustained,” Brownback said. “Manufacturing could not continue, recreational opportunities would diminish, and the towns in the area would cease to exist.”

EDIT

For years, the Kansas Geological Survey and the state’s Division of Water Resources have measured water levels in 1,400 wells in the aquifer. The rate of decline had been lessening since the 1960s, but that changed after 2000, when another drought cycle hit western Kansas and farmers began pumping more water out of the aquifer.

In southwest Kansas, where the drought has been particularly bad, well tests in January showed the water level in some parts of the aquifer had dropped more than 5 feet in a year, said Brownlie Wilson of the Kansas Geological Survey at the University of Kansas. The aquifer generally recharges only about half an inch a year.

EDIT

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/24/3034387/kansas-studies-dwindling-ogallala.html

[damntexdem]

1. Hey, no big deal: just wait for another ice age to refill the aquafer.

;-)

[bvar22]

2. The Ogalalla (AKA High Plains Aquifer) is VAST,

and a 5"drop in one year is frightening.
This aquifer supplies water for an entire region, not just a few farm wells.



"The High Plains Aquifer, more commonly known as the Ogallala Aquifer, lies under some 174,000 square miles in parts of eight states: South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, New Mexico and Texas."

"The aquifer generally recharges only about half an inch a year.

“If you see conditions like that year after year, it won’t come back in your lifetime,”

http://www.kansascity.com/2011/07/24/3034387/kansas-studies-dwindling-ogallala.html


I watched The Prophets of Doom on the History Channel a few weeks ago,
and one of the experts insisted that Peak Oil was NOT the most serious problem facing America.
He maintained the Peak Clean Water was more threatening.

[Nihil]

3. That was a 5' drop in a year not a 5" one! (12x more frightening)

>> In southwest Kansas, where the drought has been particularly bad, well tests
>> in January showed the water level in some parts of the aquifer had dropped
>> more than 5 feet in a year, said Brownlie Wilson of the Kansas Geological Survey
>> at the University of Kansas. The aquifer generally recharges only about
>> half an inch a year.

They are so f*cked that it should be terrifying people there into action,
not just getting them to say "Meh!", press a button on the remote and carry
on wasting the lifeblood of the land!

:wtf: