Precipitation recharges the aquifer where it is exposed to land surface. The ogallala aquifer is the largest underground water reservoir in the united states. The report presents waterlevel change data in the aquifer for two separate periods. The ogallala aquifer extends from the northern united states into the texas panhandle and west texas and is the primary source of water within the district. An aquifer is an underground layer of waterbearing permeable rock, rock fractures or unconsolidated materials gravel, sand, or silt. Location map showing the boundary of the high plains aquifer, major cities and roads, and altitude of land surface.
This aquifer, a major source of water for agricultural, municipal and industrial development on the high plains, is being depleted as withdrawals exceed recharge. The ogallala aquifer is a shallow table aquifer that sits under eight states ranging from south dakota south to texas and new mexico. Parts of the aquifer are in segments 2, 3, 4, 8, and 9 of this atlas. The study of water flow in aquifers and the characterization of aquifers is called hydrogeology. The entire system underlies about 450,000 square kilometers 174,000 square miles of eight states. The ogallala aquifer was formed over twenty million years ago. The ogallala consists of unconsolidated gravel, sand, silt, and clay. The ogallala aquifer, also known as the high plains aquifer, is the primary source of water for many communities throughout the high plains region.
Saturated thickness in the ogallala aquifer in the panhandle water. Ogallala aquifer north plains groundwater conservation. Ogallala aquifer pdf roles pdf additional resources. Harms will use the ogallala aquifer initiative funding to install two center pivots replacing the current. In the high plains aquifer, of which the ogallala is part, theres not a freshwater resource deeper for farmers to drill down into, says dennehy. This binder is filled with lesson plans that will serve to inform students about animals, plants, water, and soil in a fun, interactive way. Before the aquifer formed, the land now known as the great plains looked nothing like it does now. Location and area of coverage of models of the ogallala aquifer in texas. Ogallala aquifer lifeblood of the high plains part i. Eleven feature articles cover topics ranging from groundwater law and social views on water, to livestock systems, and different research projects underway related to irrigation. Ogallala aquifer county data texas tech university. Apr 25, 2017 the ogallala aquifer, part of the united states high plains aquifer, is one of the largest aquifers in the world.
Student page regional decision makers continue to struggle with the issue. Hydrogeologic properties of the aquifer vary widely. Me new england cottontail atlantic ocean ma mo ar driftless area initiative mississippi river. The aquifer consists of sand, gravel, clay, and silt and has a maximum thickness of 800 feet. It makes up 80% of the high plaines and supplies drinking water for 82% of 2. Background material in the form of white papers for each ogallala state covers state approaches to managing the aquifer, producer practices, and new developments related to sciencedata and policy. Simulated net inflow from the ogallala aquifer to the arikaree aquifer ranged from about 22 ft 3 s in dry years to about 37 ft 3 s in wet years.
The ogallala aquifer system is the largest known underground freshwater reservoir in the world. The formation process began when gravel and sand from the rocky mountains was eroded by rain and washed downstream. An aquifer is geologically a bed of rock underneath the surface of the earth, holding a substantial amount of sweet water. The ogallala aquifer is vast underground water table situated under the great plains in the us south dakota, nebraska, wyoming, colorado, kansas, oklahoma, new mexico, and texas. The full text of the kansas state university press release summarizing the studys findings is provided below study forecasts future water levels of crucial agricultural aquifer. It covers 174,000 square miles in nebraska, kansas, oklahoma, texas, south dakota, wyoming, colorado and new mexico. The ogallala aquifer in randall county contained approximately 3. In most of the aquifer area, the ogallala formation of miocene age and overlying hydraulically connected quaternary deposits, if present, are the principal geologic units in the aquifer. Injection was by gravity flow and by pumping under pressure. They face the dual challenges of continued growth and economic dependence on the resource. Since irrigation withdraws much groundwater, yet little of.
The high plains waterlevel monitoring study hpwlms is the usgss response to a directive from congress to report on waterlevel changes in the high plains ogallala aquifer figure 1. The ogallala aquifer occupies the high plains of the united states, extending northward from western texas to south dakota. At the peak of irrigation, more water was being drawn out of the aquifer each year than the entire annual flow of the colorado river. Me new england cottontail atlantic ocean ma mo ar driftless area initiative mississippi river basin in healthy watershed initiative. Water to the north of the canadian river is generally fresh. A primary focus of interest is the issue of declining water levels and the implications. High plains aquifer groundwater levels continue to decline.
Ogallala aquifer initiative ne 2017 river initiative mn nrcs landscape conservation initiatives or great lakes restoration initiative oh bog turtle golden winge. It describes how an inestimable natural phenomenonthe ogallala aquifer, the largest underground body of fresh water in the united statescame into being. Harmss 5year average water use on this land has been 222 acrefeet with. The ogallala aquifer is part of the high plains aquifer system which is reported to be the largest single source of irrigation water on the planet. Peak groundwater depletion in the high plains aquifer, projections. Those sediments soaked up water from rain and melted snow forming a spongelike structure. Kansas geological survey kgs high plains ogallala aquifer. The enormous aquifer, which lies under eight plains states, is groundwater trapped below 174,000. Declining levels appear in red and orange, and rising levels appear in shades of blue. New mexico supports about 300,000 acres, and texas about 2,500,000 acres of irrigation. Since 2003, the ogallala aquifer program oap has provided permanent federal funding to a research consortium for numerous research projects on water conservation. Pdf the impact of water policy on conserving the ogallala aquifer in groundwater management district 3 gmd3. Projecting the future of the ogallala aquifer hppr.
This comprehensive resource and economic development. Usgs high plains aquifer waterlevel monitoring study. Usgs high plains aquifer waterlevel monitoring study wlms. The ogallala aquifer supplies more than 98 percent of total water demand in the oklahoma panhandle and other sources e. The ogallala is the leading geologic formation in what is known as the high plains aquifer system. State and federal geologists, who had been studying. Learn ogallala aquifer with free interactive flashcards. The ogallala is the largest freshwater aquifer in the world. New mexico participated with five high plains states and the high plains associates in the sixstate high plainsogallala aquifer area study. Overall, it has lost an estimated 8 percent of its water, albeit with wide variations. In 1960 just 3 percent of the ogallala aquifer under western kansas had been tapped.
For the texas crp study, areas underlying crp and areas not. Figure 6 is a diagram showing the geologic age and thickness of these geologic units. Pdf documents opened from your browser may not display or print as intended. Withdrawals exceed recharge by mary winter and cliff foster freelance researchers october 2014 the ogallala aquifer has been tapped faster than nature can replenish it. The ogallala aquifer, whose total water storage is about equal to that of lake huron, is the single most important source of water for the high plains region, providing nearly all the water for residental, industrial and agricultural use. Analytical study of ogallala aquifer in randall county, texas. This website is based upon work that is supported by the national institute of food and agriculture, u. The ogallala aquifer lesson plan template and teaching resources. To date, people have not limited their use of the aquifer to sustainable levels. In northwestern nebraska, south central south dakota, and southeastern wyoming, the fractured part of the brule formation or the arikaree group, is the. At one site, 34acre feet of water was injected by gravity and produced a significant increase in yield of the well.
Declining ogallala aquifer and texas panhandle economy. Tr146 new mexico water resources research institute. Hot spots and persistence of nitrate in aquifers across scales. The map layers developed during this study of the ogallala high plains aquifer then served as the basis for a subsequent study concerned with the effects of crp on waterlevels and water storage on the texas high plains. William ashworth, an environmental historian and prolific writer, grips our attention in lyrical yet urgent terms in ogallala blue. A primary focus of interest is the issue of declining water levels and the implications for longterm water use and management. This page specifically addresses issues relevant to the western kansas ogallala portion of the high plains aquifer, including groundwater management districts 1, 3, and 4, and the adjacent portions of the aquifer. The impacts of the depletion of the ogallala aquifer on the economy of the southern high plains of texas were estimated by predicting future cropping patterns over a 30year time horizon as the saturated thickness of the aquifer declines. Department of agriculture, under award number 20166800725066, sustaining agriculture through adaptive management to preserve the ogallala aquifer under a changing climate. This huge aquifer, which underlies portions of eight states, contains primarily fossil water from the time of the last glaciation. Ogallala aquifer north plains groundwater conservation district. Usda nass, 2009, and more than 90% of the water pumped from the ogallala aquifer is used for. Water farmers in kansas and other states that sit atop the ogallala aquifer the largest freshwater aquifer in north america are pumping out water for crop irrigation far faste.
This binder is filled with lesson plans that will serve to inform students about animals, plants, water, and soil in a. Amazing facts about ogallala aquifer a knowledge archive. County year water storage in acre feet annual change in acre feet percent change average annual saturated thickness in ft. These include educational apps, videos, posters, interactive websites, careers. Every month we carefully select new tools and resources that enhance plts lessons. The issues content was provided by ogallala water cap collaborators from across the region. Much of the eastern boundary of new mexico is underlain by the aquifer. The ogallala aquifer region oar accounts for 30% of total crop and animal production in the u. This aquifer, a major source of water for agricultural, municipal and industrial development on the high plains, is being depleted as. Ogallala commons desires to help educate the youth that live in the great plains region with knowledge about the playa lakes and the ogallala aquifer.
What changed everything for funk, now age 81, was a public meeting in the late 1960s at garden city community college. The purpose of the study was to estimate the economic impacts over a 40year planning horizon resulting from rapidly rising energy costs and the declining ogallala aquifer water tables in lea county. Ogallala aquifer is the low aquifer water table situated below great plains of the southern regions of the usa. Choose from 68 different sets of ogallala aquifer flashcards on quizlet. Alluvial aquifers, which are shallower and generally connected to surface water resources, are limited. The composition of the bedrock units that underlie the high plains aquifer includes siltstone, shale, loosely to moderately cemented clay and silt, chalk, limestone, dolomite. Estimated usable lifetime for the high plains aquifer in kansas based on groundwater trends from 1996 to 2000 source. The ogallala aquifer program oap is a consortium between the usda agricultural research service and. The geologic units that make up the high plains aquifer and the underlying bedrock units range in age from permian to quaternary. Stretching from south da kota to texas, the ogallala aquifer is one of the largest aquifer systems in the u. This isnt the case in californias central valley aquifer and the mississippi abatement area, where depletion. The ogallala formation of miocene age is the principal geologic unit included in the high plains aquifer and is at the land surface throughout most of the extent of the aquifer. Instead, citizens have pumped out water faster than it can be replenished.
Formation of the ogallala aquifer before the aquifer formed, the land now known as the great plains looked nothing like it does now. The novdec 2017 issue of the colorado water institutes magazinestyle newsletter colorado water is now available. Download the free student pages that are included with this activity. For a variable with a probability density function pdf, fxx the. Kansas geological survey kgs ogallalahigh plains aquifer. Since 2003 there has been a depletion due to the rate of extraction. Nov 03, 2016 the ogallala aquifer lesson plan template and teaching resources. The effects of pumping dry the ogallala aquifer, will have dramatic effects on the economic stability of great plains agriculture production and displace hundreds of thousands of people. The ogallala aquifer ohguhlahluh is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the great plains in the united states.
An additional paper on crop insurance rounds out the set. Pdf conserving the ogallala aquifer in southwestern kansas. The future of agriculture over the ogallala aquifer. The aquifer consists of sands, gravel, silts, and clay sediments that were deposited as part of ancient river systems approximately three to six million years ago during the neogene. United states geological survey map representing the area under which the ogallala aquifer lies.
Studies conducted in this area to date will also be briefly examined. The ogallala aquifer of the central united states is one of the worlds great aquifers, but in places it is being rapidly depleted by growing municipal use, and continuing agricultural use. Therefore, the center for geospatial technology has developed a gis repository of data and map products for researchers to better understand, to help preserve, and to protect this valuable resource. The ogallala aquifer is the largest aquifer in the united states and is a major aquifer of texas underlying much of the high plains region. This aquifer is recharged from small playa lakes on the high plains surface and is used heavily for irrigation. Four recharge tests were conducted by injecting water from playa lakes through wells into the ogallala formation. A race against time the texas alliance for water conservation as the drought in the texas high plains continues to intensify, a unique partnership of producers and researchers is working diligently to find economically viable alternatives to the regions irrigationdependent crop monocultures.
Minor aquifer that underlies portions of the ogallala formation. The aquifer is loosing its ability to replace what is being extracted, because of increasing demand for crop irrigation, spreading population growth, drought. Geological survey has released a new report detailing changes of groundwater levels in the high plains aquifer. Ogallala aquifer the ogallala aquifer provides water resources for the extensive agricultural assets and population of west texas and the great plains.
The high plains waterlevel monitoring study hpwlms is the usgss response to a directive from congress to report on waterlevel changes in the high plains ogallala aquifer. The aquifer supplies 30 percent of the nations irrigated groundwater and serves as the most agriculturally important irrigation in kansas. Aquifer exceeds the amount of recharge through natural processes, leading to sub. The high plainsogallala aquifer study region in colorado co, kansas ks, nebraska ne. Yellows and reds indicate areas where depletion is being seen. The study investigates the future availability of groundwater in the high plains aquifer also called the ogallala aquifer and how reducing use would affect cattle and crops. It is a major source of irrigation water throughout the region. The ogallala aquifer is the largest aquifer in the united states. New mexico participated with five high plains states and the high plains associates in the sixstate high plains ogallala aquifer area study. Water can flow between the ogallala aquifer and underlying aquifers. One of the worlds largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately 174,000 sq mi 450,000 km 2 in portions of eight states south dakota, nebraska, wyoming, colorado, kansas, oklahoma, new mexico, and texas.
Pdf the future of agriculture over the ogallala aquifer. For farmers who rely on the ogallala aquifer, there may be a bigger problem. This map shows changes in ogallala water levels from the period before the aquifer was tapped to 2015. High plains aquifer groundwater levels continue to. Related terms include aquitard, which is a bed of low permeability along an aquifer, and aquiclude or aquifuge. Promoting efficient water management through effective outreach. Effects of artificial recharge on the ogallala aquifer, texas. The high plains aquifer underlies an area of about 174,000 square miles in parts of colorado, kansas, nebraska, new mexico, oklahoma, south dakota, texas, and wyoming.