by The Ogallala Aquifer, stretching from South Dakota to Texas, covers 174,000 square miles, including 36,080 square miles in the Texas High Plains. In western Kansas and the Texas High Plains, the aquifer is declining at an unacceptable rate. Aquifer depletion rates of 1 to 3 feet per year are common in that region, and recharges are very small. Water availability, cost and policy, together with technology development and adoption rates, are reshaping the rural landscape.
In 2003 a multi-state group of researchers tackled the problems associated with aquifer decline, and since then the Ogallala Aquifer Program has addressed the complex issues related to sustaining the Ogallala Aquifer and maintaining a stable rural economy. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service (ARS), with identified project funds provided by Congress, funds the project.
