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Ogallala Aquifer Dropped More Than a Foot in Kansas in 2024

The Kansas Reflector’s Allison Kite reported Tuesday that “aquifer levels in parts of western Kansas that rely on groundwater for everything from drinking to irrigation fell more than a foot last year, Kansas Geological Survey scientists said Tuesday.”

“The Kansas Geological Survey earlier this month completed its annual campaign to measure the Ogallala Aquifer, which supplies the western one-third of the state with water. The Ogallala, the largest underground store of freshwater in the nation, has been declining for decades because of overuse to irrigate crops in otherwise arid parts of the state,” Kite reported. “According to preliminary data presented to the Kansas House Water Committee, aquifer levels in the groundwater management area covering southwest Kansas fell by 1.52 feet between January 2024 and this month, a larger drop than the 1.43-foot decline the year before.

Western Kansas’ management area saw a half-foot decline, on par with the year before,” Kite reported. “Northwest Kansas, which has been struggling with dry conditions, saw the aquifer decline 1.34 feet, a far more significant drop than the 0.47-foot drop between January 2023 and 2024. The figures are preliminary. The Kansas Geological Survey’s official report will be out in a few weeks, said Jay Kalbas, director of the survey.”

Map of the Ogallala Aquifer. Courtesy of the Natural Resources Conservation Services.
Why the Aquifer is Important

Farm Policy News reported in January 2024 that the Ogallala Aquifer is one of the most crucial water sources in the United States for both agricultural production and for daily water use in households. According to Oklahoma State University, “approximately 14 percent of the total aquifer area consists of irrigated acres capable of producing $7 billion in crop sales. The Ogallala aquifer provides one-fourth of the total water supply used for agricultural production across the U.S.”

The Kansas Reflector’s Allison Kite and Kevin Hardy reported at the time that that adds up to “20% of the nation’s wheat, corn, cotton and cattle production and represents 30% of all water used for irrigation in the United States.”

“The water from the aquifer is being pumped by nearly 200,000 irrigation wells, most of them installed since the 1940s,” according to the Encyclopedia of the Great Plains. “Installation rates have varied, with the highest rates generally occurring during dry years.”

What State Government is Doing to Preserve the Aquifer

The Kansas City Beacon’s Blaise Mesa reported on Jan. 16 that “Kansas sits at a crossroads, Gov. Laura Kelly said at the State of the State address Wednesday. Do nothing and the farming industry and western Kansas will dry up. Or invest in water preservation and preserve the Ogallala. ‘Forget making it 75 years down the road — some parts of western Kansas don’t have groundwater enough to last another 25 years,’ Kelly said.”

“Kelly has proposed preserving the aquifer. She wants to invest another $30 million in water preservation, which she said would spur $90 million in investment annually,” Mesa reported. “She also wants to create the Office of Natural Resources. Today, water in Kansas is managed by 14 different groundwater management districts. She wants to consolidate them into one centralized office. The money and office are part of a 10-year strategic plan that is similar to the state’s 10-year highway plan. Future projects would be funded according to five priority areas: water quantity/aquifer, water quality, reservoirs, resiliency, and research and education.”

KCUR’s Calen Moore reported in December 2024 that “a new (Kansas) state law requires all five groundwater management districts, or GMDs, in Kansas to submit an action plan for addressing groundwater declines to state officials by July 1, 2026. If that deadline is ignored, or if an action plan isn’t approved, the state will step in for the first time with its own action plan.”

“Speaking to the group of farmers in Sublette, (Bret Rooney, a farmer in Haskell County) was blunt in his assessment of the situation,” Moore reported. “‘We’ve got a choice to either come together, figure out a solution, work on things, do things like we’re doing today … or someone from Topeka or Manhattan is going to tell us how we’re going to do it,’ Rooney said.”

The Beacon’s Mesa reported that “Rep. Jim Minnix, a Scott City Republican, is the chair of the House water committee and a farmer. The Beacon talked to Minnix before Kelly’s proposal on Wednesday, but he said the Ogallala is a top priority for him.”

“Minnix hopes future technology could continue to extend the aquifer’s lifetime, but the state needs to protect the water it has now for that to happen,” Mesa reported. “Despite the gloomy projections, Minnix said there’s hope. ‘We can sure extend the aquifer for many, many years,’ he said.”

Ryan Hanrahan is the Farm Policy News editor and social media director for the farmdoc project. He has previously worked in local news, primarily as an agriculture journalist in the American West. He is a graduate of the University of Missouri (B.S. Science & Agricultural Journalism). He can be reached at rrh@illinois.edu.

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