2023 Status of the High Plains Aquifer in Kansas
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.17161/kgsts.v25_2023.24127Abstract
The High Plains aquifer (HPA), which includes the Ogallala aquifer, is the primary source of water for western Kansas and economically is the most important groundwater resource in the state. This aquifer and the river-reservoir systems located principally in eastern Kansas are identified as the two most critical water resource components of the state’s Long-Term Vision for the Future of Water Supply in Kansas. Two of the keys to implementing the long-term vision are clearly defining the resource conditions and issues, and reviewing and evaluating progress toward achieving the vision’s goals. The Kansas Water Office updated the Kansas Water Plan in 2022. The first of the plan’s guiding principles is “Conserve and extend the High Plains aquifer.” In December 2022, the Kansas Water Authority (KWA) voted to place statements in its 2023 Annual Report to the Governor and Legislature concerning the “critical depletion of the Ogallala aquifer.” The first of these is “The policy of planned depletion of the Ogallala aquifer is no longer in the best interest of the State of Kansas.” The statements also indicate that a “collaborative process is needed to establish data-driven goals, metrics, and actions to halt the” aquifer decline and that the process should engage state agencies, committees, stakeholders, and the KWA. This Kansas Geological Survey (KGS) publication addresses key elements of the long-term vision goals, updated water plan, and annual report to the governor by providing an assessment of the recent and current resource conditions of the HPA that can be used to evaluate progress toward sustaining or prolonging the life of the aquifer.
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References
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