LAWRENCE — A study of water wells by the Kansas Geological survey shows a steep decline in groundwater last year throughout western and central Kansas. The survey says groundwater levels dropped an average of one foot last year with a decline of an average of nearly three feet in southwestern Kansas. Virtually all of the water in central and western Kansas comes from the Ogallala Aquifer in western Kansas and the Great Bend Prairie Aquifer and the Equus Beds in central Kansas. The Kansas Geological Survey, which is at Kansas University, has received a four-year, $250,000 grant from the National Science Foundation to study the future prospects of the Ogallala. The Geological Survey’s Marios Sophocleous says at least one-fifth of the total annual agricultural products in the U.S.s and about half of the nation’s grain-fed beef is produced in the Great Plains area over the Ogallala. However, he said that heavy agriculture can’t exist without drawing water from the aquifer and the water is being drawn down faster than it’s being recharged. The data are available at www.kgs.ku.edu/magellan/waterlevels/index.html. Other information about the state’s ground water, including a site dedicated to water rights information, is available from the Kansas Geological Survey Web site, hercules.kgs.ku.edu/geohydro/wimas/index.cfm.
Thursday, April 28, 1 p.m.
