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High Plains aquifer depletion, local districts and new mapping technologies top task force—s groundwater briefing
Summary
State and university scientists told the task force that the High Plains (Ogallala) aquifer shows large, long-term declines in parts of western Kansas, and described measurement campaigns, airborne electromagnetic surveys and local groundwater district tools used to manage decline.
State and academic water scientists told the task force that long-term groundwater declines in the High Plains aquifer, especially the Ogallala formation in western Kansas, require data-driven management and locally led conservation.
Earl Lewis, chief engineer for the Division of Water Resources, said Kansas uses a prior-appropriation water-rights system and that groundwater permits include a point of diversion, place of use, type and quantity. The state measures wells annually in winter to track aquifer levels and applies "safe-yield" principles to avoid permitting more water than natural recharge can support.
"We measure about 1,400 wells a year by hand," said Jay (KGS program lead), describing the annual campaign. The Kansas Geological Survey (KGS), represented in the presentation by the director, described that teams physically measure water levels, log data in real…
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