Beautiful day for driving around #westernkansas with part of the @ksgeology team measuring Ogallala aquifer levels.
Long story short… aquifer declines accelerated this year, largely because of the drought. No rain meant more pumping for irrigation to try to keep crops alive.
Long story short… aquifer declines accelerated this year, largely because of the drought. No rain meant more pumping for irrigation to try to keep crops alive.
Here’s Brownie Wilson, my guide for today’s tour of aquifer wells. He’s one of several @ksgeology folks measuring levels across #westernkansas this week for the annual check-in.
He said many wells that had been dropping 1-2 feet per year saw declines of 3-4 feet this year.
He said many wells that had been dropping 1-2 feet per year saw declines of 3-4 feet this year.
While we were out, he got a message from one of the other crews in SW Kansas.
They measured a well where the water level declined 10 feet since last year.
And its depth to water (how far underground the water table is) dropped to 458 feet, which he believes is a new record.
They measured a well where the water level declined 10 feet since last year.
And its depth to water (how far underground the water table is) dropped to 458 feet, which he believes is a new record.
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