Ogallala Aquifer 101
If you live in the U.S., the Ogallala Aquifer is super important to you even if you don't know what it is. In this post, I'll explain what aquifers are, why they're important and why they're in trouble.
What is an aquifer?
An aquifer is an underground water reservoir stored in a permeable layer of rock. Basically, an aquifer is kind of like an underground lake. Many places use wells to pump water from aquifers to houses, where people use it as tap water. Other areas (like the Western U.S.) rely heavily on aquifer water to irrigate their crops.
Aquifers get bigger when rainwater filters down through layers of soil and rock. By the time the rainwater reaches the aquifer (which could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few years), it is filtered enough to be pumped as tap water or irrigation water. Unfortunately, many places are draining their aquifers faster than filtered rain can replenish the aquifers.
bottom line: aquifers are underground water sources used as tap water and irrigation water.
Why is the Ogallala aquifer important?
The Ogallala Aquifer is located under 8 states in the Western U.S.
The Ogallala Aquifer is particularly important because it is huge compared to most other aquifers. As late as the 1950s, farmers were confident that the Ogallala Aquifer was so large that it would never run out. This (false) feeling of abundance led the Great Plains to become an agricultural hub in the U.S.
Today, the aquifer continues to provide the otherwise arid Great Plains of the U.S. with irrigation water. The Great Plains are home to almost one-fifth of the U.S.'s total annual agricultural harvest, which is all irrigated with water from the Ogallala. This harvest feeds people across North America and the rest of the globe. Without water from the Ogallala, growing crops in the Western U.S. would be much more difficult, if not impossible.
Farmers in the Great Plains also rely on the Ogallala for their income. The aquifer irrigates over $20 million worth of crops. Without the Ogallala Aquifer, this source of income would vanish, leaving farmers and ranchers on the Great Plains without the lifestyle they have sustained for hundreds of years.
Bottom line: the Ogallala aquifer provides irrigation for a bunch of U.S. crops, which keep the world fed and farmers in business.
This map shows the Ogallala Aquifer’s water level change from pre-1950s to 2015
How is the Ogallala Aquifer doing?
In short, not great. In the 1960s, geologists discovered that farmers were draining the Ogallala much faster than they previously thought. Today, many parts of the aquifer are still being drained faster than they can replenish, as shown in the National Climate Assessment map to the right. Over the next 50 years, climate change is expected to cause more frequent and longer-lasting droughts in the plains, which will only put more strain on the aquifer. If we were to drain the aquifer completely, it would take 6,000 years to fill it up again.
Bottom line: We're draining the Ogallala aquifer faster than it can replenish.
What's being done to fix it?
The National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) is currently trying to reduce the amount of water taken from the aquifer through their Ogallala Aquifer Initiative. They are educating farmers about practices that conserve water and improve water quality, including dryland farming, low-till farming, wetland restoration, pesticide management and other sustainable agricultural methods.
The NRCS set several goals they wished to achieve by 2018, including conserving 102,320 acre-feet of water, improving irrigation efficiency on 49,400 acres, converting operations to dryland farming on 30,350 acres, installing 202 irrigation water management systems, and applying nutrient management on 21,000 acres. Their annual report shows that they had achieved at least 70% of each goal by the end of 2017. However, they have not published new goals for 2019, nor have they updated their website to reflect further progress.
Although the NRCS seems to have successfully helped farmers adopt more aquifer-friendly practices, their lack of recent publication suggests they could be doing much more. To help save the Ogallala Aquifer (and all aquifers across the globe), call your representative and tell them that you care about water conservation and would like to see more legislation that enforces or encourages sustainable agriculture.