The Ogallala Aquifer is 174,000 square miles of water-bearing sediment under Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming – one of the largest in the world. Erosion of the Rockies provided alluvia… The USGS has performed several studies of the aquifer, to determine what is coming in (groundwater recharge from the surface), what is leaving (water pumped out and baseflow to streams), and what the net changes in storage are (rise, fall or no change). Logan Layden, "If you Want to Build a New Lake in Oklahoma, Forget History", March 28, 2013, StateImpact Oklahoma, Learn how and when to remove this template message, Environmental risks of the Keystone XL pipeline, National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, Great Recycling and Northern Development Canal, "Changes in Water Levels and Storage in the High Plains Aquifer, Predevelopment to 2005", "The Historically Evolving Impact of the Ogallala Aquifer: Agricultural Adaptation to Groundwater and Drought", "Ogallala Aquifer Initiative 2011 Report", "Where the world's running out of water, in one map", "High Plains regional ground-water study: U.S. Geological Survey Fact Sheet FS-091-00", http://geology.gsapubs.org/content/16/3/203.short, http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1117&context=natrespapers, High Plains Underground Water Conservation District #1 (Texas), http://pubs.usgs.gov/circ/1337/pdf/C1337.pdf, "Shrinking aquifer looms as big problem for farms", Column - Mansel Phillips: "Too many thirsty industries, not nearly enough water", "Another sign of long-term water worries", Jeremy P. Meyer, "Farmers' tower of power", "The Lessons of History No Longer Apply when it comes to Building Lakes", Groundwater Depletion in the United States (1900–2008), "Drop in U.S. underground water levels has accelerated: USGS", Texas Water Report: Going Deeper for the Solution, "Caprock Chronicles: The Ogallala Aquifer's long history, uncertain future", "Extreme weather just devastated 10m acres in the midwest. Papers in Natural Resources. One of the world's largest aquifers, it underlies an area of approximately 174,000 sq mi (450,000 km 2) in portions of eight states (South … Grain size and condition of sorting is an indication of the high energy involved in the depositional process of these sediments. Thickness of the Ogallala formation is primarily controlled by the morphology of the eroded pre-Ogallala surface. The Ogallala formation in Texas is the southernmost extension of the major water-bearing unit underlying the physiographic province of North America. In response to that concern, the Department of State's Office of the Inspector General conducted an investigation of the potential conflict of interest. [36], As the lead agency in the transboundary pipeline project, the U.S. State Department commissioned an environmental-impact assessment as required by the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969. [31][32][33][34][35] The Pioneer crude oil pipeline crosses east-west across Nebraska, and the Pony Express pipeline, which crosses the Ogallala Aquifer in Colorado, Nebraska, and Kansas, was being converted as of 2013 from natural gas to crude oil, under a permit from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission. The Ogallala aquifer region hosts diverse landscapes and ecosystems that are sensitive to human impacts. In addition to widely recognized environmental consequences, groundwater depletion also adversely impacts the long-term sustainability of groundwater supplies to help meet the nation’s water needs. [21], The depletion between 2001 and 2008, inclusive, is about 32% of the cumulative depletion during the entire 20th century. Freshwater saturated thickness averages 95 feet. The sands are generally tan, yellow or reddish brown, medium to coarse-grained, moderately to well sorted, unconsolidated quartz grains, interbedded with thin layers of clay and occasionally sandstone. Although it is "common for companies applying to build government projects to be involved in assigning and paying for the impact analysis",[38] several opponents of the project suggested there could be a conflict of interest. These deeper layers represent older soil horizons. Caliche occurs in both Ogallala and post-Ogallala sediments and is formed by the leaching of carbonate and silica from surface soils and the re-deposition of the dissolved mineral layers below the surface. Withdrawals from the Ogallala Aquifer for irrigation amounted to 26 km3 (21,000,000 acre⋅ft) in 2000. Ogallala aquifer—and the region it enhances. [19] In some places in the Texas Panhandle, the water table has been drained (dewatered). The motivation to save water comes from the district's regulations on extracting water from the aquifer. However, by 2013, as the water consumption efficiency of the center-pivot irrigator improved over the years, farmers chose to plant more intensively, irrigate more land, and grow thirstier crops rather than reduce water consumption--an example of the Jevons Paradox in practice. We would love to visit with you! The entire system underlies about 450,000 square kilometers (174,000 square … Underlying these aquifers and much of the Ogallala are Triassic (Dockum aquifer) sediments and Red Bed strata. These states are Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. [5] The aquifer is at risk for over-extraction and pollution. Cost to register: $40 for general admission, $20 for producers and students and free for keynote … Geology, 16(3), 203-206. However, the soil of the playa lakes is different and not lined with caliche, making these some of the few areas where the aquifer can recharge. The water volumes in the Ogalla… Depth to water below the land surface can range from almost 400 feet in parts of the North Plains to between 100 to 200 feet throughout much of the South Plains. Gustavson, T. C, Winkler, D. A. The center-pivot irrigator was described as the "villain"[19] in a New York Times article, "Wells Dry, Fertile Plains Turn to Dust" recounting the relentless decline of parts of the Ogallala Aquifer. "Water quality in the High Plains Aquifer, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming". It was named in 1898 by N.H. Darton for the town of Ogallala, Nebraska, near where the formation was discovered. [40] In January 2014, the U.S. State Department released its Keystone pipeline Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement for the Keystone XL Project Executive Summary, which concluded that, according to models, a large crude oil spill from the pipeline that reached the Ogallala could spread as far as 1,214 feet (370 m), with dissolved components spreading as much as 1,050 ft (320 m) further. For the purposes of this document, the Ogallala aquifer will be considered to consist of the saturated sediments of the Ogallala formation and any underlying, potable water-bearing units hydraulically connected with it. The depth of the formation of the Ogallala Aquifer varies 10000 feet to 100 feet in different places. Much of the plains region is semiarid, with steady winds that hasten evaporation of surface water and precipitation. The Ogallala formation unconformably overlies Permian, Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceous strata and consists primarily of heterogeneous sequences of coarse-grained sand and gravel in the lower part grading upward into fine clay, silt, and sand. The depth to static water level from land surface can range from the land surface to in excess of 500 feet. Location map showing the boundary of the High Plains aquifer, major cities and roads, and altitude of land surface. The project is focused on Wichita and Greeley counties, which have seen a rapid decline in water availability. [24], During the 1990s, the aquifer held some three billion acre-feet of groundwater used for crop irrigation as well as drinking water in urban areas. From the uplands to the west, rivers and streams cut channels in a generally west to east or southeast direction. The water irrigates crops such as alfalfa, corn, cotton, and wheat, … The Ogallala Aquifer, also known as the High Plains Aquifer, is a vast yet shallow underground water table aquifer located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. The deposition of the aquifer material dates back 2 to 6 million years to late Miocene to early Pliocene age when the southern Rocky Mountains were still tectonically somewhat active. In 1950, irrigated cropland covered 250,000 acres (100,000 ha). [11] Water quality within the Ogallala varies with the highest quality for drinking and irrigation in the northern region while the southern region had the poorest. This is a decline of about 253,000,000 acre feet (312 km3), or 9%, since substantial groundwater irrigation development began in the 1950s.[1]. "[19], The center-pivot irrigation system is considered to be a highly efficient system which helps conserve water. Streamlined operations allow them to produce significantly greater yield using roughly the same amount of water needed four decades ago. The largest and deepest portion of the aquifer is in Nebraska. The aquifer is part of the High Plains Aquifer System, and resides in the Ogallala Formation, which is the principal geologic unit underlying 80% of the High Plains. Water bearing units of Cretaceous and Jurassic ages combine to form the Rita Blanca (a minor aquifer) in the western part of Dallam and Hartley counties. The Ogallala Aquifer Crisis Is Uniquely American, With Global Consequences. Only after World War II, when center pivot irrigation became available, was the land mass of the High Plains aquifer system transformed into one of the most agriculturally productive regions in the world. They are primarily fine-grained to silty, sometimes calcareous and are derived from lacustrine, fluvial and eolian deposits. Retrieved from: Diffendal, R. F. (1984). Additional information about the Ogallala Aquifer can also be found at http://ogallala.tamu.edu/. The Environmental Impact Statement concluded that the project posed little threat of "adverse environmental impacts",[29][37] the report was drafted by Cardno Entrix, a company that assisted both the Department of State and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in preparing environmental impact statements for other proposed TransCanada projects. Retrieved from. It has long been the main water supply for the High Plains population and is being used at an unsustainable rate. [12] This trend can impact the future groundwater sustainability for portions of the aquifer. Fact: KXL will Threaten the Ogallala Aquifer, Smaller oil pipeline to cross Ogallala Aquifer. With the use of center-pivot irrigation, nearly three million acres of land were irrigated. [43] The local non-profit organization Ogallala Commons, named for the aquifer itself, which not only collaborates and supports the local communicates, also works to conserve the Ogallala Aquifer and the surrounding area. [10] The depth of the water below the surface of the land ranges from almost 400 feet (120 m) in parts of the north to between 100 and 200 feet (30 and 61 m) throughout much of the south. The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the United States. At places, the water table was measured to drop more than 5 ft (1.5 m) per year at the time of maximum extraction. As of 2005, the total depletion since before development amounted to 253,000,000 acre feet (312 km3). The Ogallala Aquifer (oh-guh-LAH-lah) is a shallow water table aquifer surrounded by sand, silt, clay, and gravel located beneath the Great Plains in the United States. The Ogallala Aquifer contains about the same amount of water as Lake Huron, but it is not an underground lake. The success of large-scale farming in areas that do not have adequate precipitation and do not always have perennial surface water for diversion has depended heavily on pumping groundwater for irrigation. The Ogallala is recharged primarily by rainwater, but only about one inch of precipitation actually reaches the aquifer annually. Continued long-term use of the aquifer is "troublesome and in need of major reevaluation," according to the historian Paul H. Carlson, professor-emeritus from Texas Tech University in Lubbock. [29][30], Pipeline industry spokesmen have noted that thousands of miles of existing pipelines carrying crude oil and refined liquid hydrocarbons have crossed over the Ogallala Aquifer for years, in southeast Wyoming, eastern Colorado and New Mexico, western Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas. From the uplands to the west, rivers and streams cut channels in a generally west to east or southeast direction.