Saving the Ogallala (aka High Plains) Aquifer

This article appeared in the March 2009 Scientific American, but I missed it. Robert Osborne of Watercrunch (who now is Tweeting at http://twitter.com/watercrunch) gave me a heads-up.

The High Plains Aquifer is one of the poster children for unsustainable use of groundwater. But it has transformed a formerly poor region into one of the world's richest agricultural areas.

Some facts from the article:

• If spread across the USA the aquifer would cover all 50 states with 1.5 feet of water
• If drained, it would take more than 6,000 years to refill naturally
• More than 90 percent of the water pumped is used to irrigate crops
• $20 billion a year in food and fiber depend on the aquifer

Enjoy!

[Note added on 15 August 2010: Here is another post on the subject featuring an engineering analysis. Ken's comment below refers to this 11 August 2010 post.]

"There is no benefit to mankind to keeping it unused in cold storage.” -- Andrew Stone, Exceutive Director, American Ground Water Trust, referring to the 'fossil' water in the aquifer.

Comments

[Ken]

Please see attached links to the:
RIO GRANDE COMPACT
Not sure exactly what it says.

http://wrri.nmsu.edu/wrdis/compacts/Rio-Grande-Compact.pdf
Some one may be able to understand it.

Wikipedia link to the compact.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rio_Grande_Compact
Ken

[Ken]

Hello,
Wanted to give a summary on my review comment dated August 10, 2010.

The Site link "Ram review" shows cost to lift water from low elevations such as the Great Lakes, Missouri River or the Mississippi River may be too expensive because of the height water has to be lifted to recharge the Ogallala aquifer. Also another link "Ram interactive snow melt study" shares a location above the Ogallala aquifer where there is no cost to lift the water and there is profit. A tunnel thru the Sacramento Uplift about 20 miles long can bring snowmelt from the north Rio Grande River to west Canadian river. The site also has a link showing a graph for 10 years of flow in the North Rio Grande River.

Sorry I did not explain, RAM is part of my last name.

Regards
Ken

[Ken]

Hello,
Please see below link for my review of a preliminary study authorized by the U.S. Congress to divert water for recharging the High Plains Aquifer (Ogallala aquifer). And a possible way of receiving water east of the Sacramento Uplift in New Mexico and this water may add to the Canadian River flow.

Ram review of water for the Ogallala aquifer and possible snowmelt for east New Mexico.
http://snowmelt.webs.com/ram.htm

[Ken]

No injection wells needed. Allow the water from the Mississppi River to flow in irrigation ditches above the aquifer and the excess to collect in a lake. Use of the aquifer will be slowed down and the aquifer may start filling up. Some calcs will need to be done. Not to mention the cost savings of not injecting in a well and the farmer saving of not pumping out a well.
Ken

[Michael]

Dear Leif and David,

Thanks for your questions.

Leif - Some sources have been suggested for injection well water: 1) harvested surface runoff (availability?); 2) imported water (Mississippi River?). Don't laugh; Pat Mulroy suggested this in DC a few months ago. The idea has been around since at least the early 1970s when I first heard of it and it still finds traction among some because of the region's importance (food security, etc.).

I cannot begin to imagine how many injection wells would be needed for an aquifer-wide project.

Ashworth's book is on my shelf awaiting my attention.

David - Groundwaterhegemony provided you one answer. My understanding is that the farmers in the heavily impacted areas (TX Panhandle, eastern NM) are going for broke - "the future is now" sort of stuff. Some are being forced to reduce/eliminate pumping because it is now too expensive. Others who remain pumpers could benefit. There obviously is a point where pumping becomes "sustainable". I just don't know what that point is.

Interesting that years ago this unsustainability was exacerbated somewhat by the state engineer of NM, the legendary Steve Reynolds. When TX pumpers were lowering water levels in the eastern NM wells, he encouraged NM pumpers to retaliate against TX stealing NM's water by pumping more. So they did. Reynolds knew the Ogallala was going to run dry one day, so he urged people to get it while they could.

Note that water levels are rising in some parts of the Ogallala - Nebraska, for example.

[Leif]

Where is the water for the injection wells going to come from? How many wells will it take to recharge an aquifer that covers many states? It doesn't seem like there's a silver bullet just a variety of locally adapted mitigation strategies. William Ashworth wrote an excellent book about the this question, Ogallala Blues.

[groundwaterhegemony]

Aguanomics:

Yes, the middle ground is called Aquifer Storage and Recovery.

But the problem is political will.

[David Zetland]

Michael -- I've read that Ogallala management is "intentionally" unsustainable b/c of slow RECHARGE. Is there a middle ground between nothing and today that's sustainable?