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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 time and maintain a network of index wells that report continuously. Director Janie Kalbus (Kansas Geological Survey) told members the index-well network provides daily data that help separate seasonal variation from long-term trends.
KGS and the Division of Water Resources also discussed an airborne electromagnetic (AEM) survey program designed to map the three-dimensional structure of the Ogallala. Jay described AEM as a "leap forward" that converts resistivity measurements from helicopter-borne sensors into subsurface estimates, including depth-to-bedrock and internal variations in the aquifer, which are not visible from single borehole logs. The program has flown Groundwater Management District (GMD) 4, and the office plans a larger flight across GMD 3 next year.
Local groundwater governance tools were a central part of the briefing. Lewis described the historical arc from the 1945 Water Appropriation Act through the 1972 Groundwater Management District Act and subsequent tools: Local Enhanced Management Areas (LEMAs), created in 2012, and Water Conservation Areas (2015). GMDs have used LIMAs to achieve localized reductions in pumping; Sheridan County was cited as an early example where local measures reduced use roughly 2425 over a multi-period window compared with historic levels.
KGS researchers presented the QStable approach for defining where modest percentage reductions in pumping can stabilize long-term water levels. Task force members heard that QStable estimates in northwest Kansas ranged from a few percent to 2525, and in parts of southwest Kansas could be higher; speakers urged that these numbers make some conservation targets more achievable than earlier broad estimates of 5025 to 7525 reductions.
Speakers also described the economic stakes. Kelsey Olson (presented as Secretary Olson) summarized agriculture and meat processing data and said Kansas ranks among the nation—s top producers for several commodities; she highlighted the concentration of cattle and feed yards in southwest Kansas and warned that aquifer decline has economic consequences for farming, ranching and associated processing employment.
Why it matters: The briefing emphasized that data density and local governance are key to workable conservation that preserves economic activity. The state—s measurement campaign, index wells, the QStable framing, GMD authorities and AEM mapping together provide a richer evidence base for locally tailored conservation plans.
No formal actions were taken; presenters and task force members collected follow-up questions and requested more detail on meters, financial impacts and the AEM schedule.
