The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest underground water reservoir in the United States, covering 174,000 square miles in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado and New Mexico. A major water source for regional agricultural, municipal and industrial development, the Ogallala is being depleted as withdrawals exceed recharge.
Since 2003, the Ogallala Aquifer Program has worked to improve the sustainability of agricultural industries and rural communities through innovative scientific research and technology transfer.
Sustaining economic activity from the Ogallala Aquifer through new water management technologies
Recent News
- Wheat and more… or lessBy Vance Ehmke Will the Ogallala go the way of the buffalo? The thing that very nearly led to the extinction of an entire species, the American Bison, was what they call, “The Tragedy of… Read more: Wheat and more… or less
- Kansas Geological Survey says 18% to 32% cut in groundwater pumping may stabilize aquiferBy Tim Carpenter Estimates drawn from 25 years of tracking water-level, water-use The aquifer, the state’s most economically important groundwater resource, published a report summarizing regional conditions and options for prolonging life of the aquifer. The… Read more: Kansas Geological Survey says 18% to 32% cut in groundwater pumping may stabilize aquifer
- Husker study finds aquifer depletion threatens crop yieldsBy Scott Schrage Yield Losses intensify when groundwater dwindles, data shows Three decades of data have informed a new Nebraska-led study that shows how the depletion of groundwater—the same that many farmers rely on for irrigation—can… Read more: Husker study finds aquifer depletion threatens crop yields
- A new look at an old aquifer debateBy Sarah Wyant For most of my journalism career, which started in the 1980s, I’ve heard people expressing concerns about the Ogallala Aquifer running dry. After all, it was being tapped by more and more farmers… Read more: A new look at an old aquifer debate
