Kansas drought in 2011 has caused severe declines in groundwater levels
Ogallala Aquifer in southwest Kansas dropped an average 3.78 feet in 2011, Kansas Geological Survey said. That’s compared to a decline of 3 feet in 2010 and 1.39 feet in 2009.
Disaster Calendar 2012 – March 30
Mass die-offs resulting from human impact and the planetary response to the anthropogenic assault could occur by early 2016. SYMBOLIC COUNTDOWN: 1,447 Days Left to the ‘Worst Day’ in Human History
- Kansas, USA. Kansas drought in 2011 has caused severe declines in groundwater levels.
U.S. Seasonal Drought Map.
-
- The drought began in the fall of 2010.
- Much of Kansas received between 25 to 50 percent of normal rainfall.
- Ogallala Aquifer in southwest Kansas dropped an average 3.78 feet in 2011, Kansas Geological Survey said. That’s compared to a decline of 3 feet in 2010 and 1.39 feet in 2009.
- Thew is a nearly 174,000-square-mile underground cache of water that spreads across parts of Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Nebraska, New Mexico, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming – one of the largest freshwater aquifers in the world.
- “The growing season was probably the worst since the 1930s,” said Kansas Geological Survey water-data manager. “It was just awful.”
- “It’s a change from 80 years ago when, during the Great Depression, hundreds, if not thousands, of farmers went out of business after drought and dust storms damaged their crops. Back then, there was little irrigation relief or knowledge of the magnitude of the reservoir underneath the surface,” said a report.
- The Ogallala Aquifer (aka, the High Plains Aquifer,) is one of the world’s largest aquifers, covering an area of about 450,000 km² (174,000 mi²).
- Named after the town of Ogallala, Nebraska, the vast but shallow aquifer is located beneath the Great Plains covering portion of eight states of Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming and South Dakota.
- Ogallala yields about 30 percent of the ground water used for irrigation in the U.S.
- The aquifer has been declining for decades
- “High Plains ground water is used primarily to grow crops for the Nation; irrigation accounts for 94 percent of the ground-water use. The second largest ground-water use, 418 million gallons per day (Mgal/day), is for domestic drinking water. Almost 2 million people rely on the High Plains aquifer for their drinking water. Surface water is used for drinking water primarily in the larger cities near the periphery of the High Plains aquifer (Cheyenne, Wyoming, and Lubbock, Odessa, and Amarillo, Texas). Other uses of ground water include livestock (222 Mgal/day), mining (210 Mgal/day), and industry (155 Mgal/day).” USGS said.
Water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2005 (modified from McGuire, 2007). Map shows the areas of substantial water-level changes in the aquifer from the time prior to substantial ground-water irrigation development (predevelopment or about 1950) to 2005 Source: USGS
Water-Level Changes, Predevelopment to 2005
- The map of water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from predevelopment to 2005 was generated using methods described by McGuire (2007). The map is based on water levels from 3,682 wells, which were measured in predevelopment and in 2005, and other previously published data in areas with few predevelopment water levels. The areas with few predevelopment water levels are in the central part of the Nebraska Panhandle, west-central Nebraska, and southeastern Wyoming.
- The water-level changes from predevelopment to 2005 ranged between a rise of 84 feet and a decline of 277 feet. Area-weighted, average water-level change from predevelopment to 2005 was a decline of 12.8 feet. Approximately 25 percent of the aquifer area had more than 10 feet of water-level decline from predevelopment to 2005; 17 percent had more than 25 feet of water-level decline, and 9 percent had more than 50 feet of water-level decline. Approximately 2 percent of the aquifer area had more than 10 feet of water-level rise from predevelopment to 2005 (McGuire, 2007).
Change in Water in Storage, Predevelopment to 2005
- Total water in storage in 2005 was about 2,925 million acre-feet, which was a decline of about 253 million acre-feet (or 9 percent) since predevelopment. Water in storage for predevelopment was inferred from water in storage in 2000 and water-level changes from predevelopment to 2000. Changes in storage prior to predevelopment were not estimated (McGuire, 2007).
Global Disasters: Links, Forecasts and Background
- 2010 Disasters [Links to 2010 Disaster Calendar]
- Mega Disasters
- 2011 Disaster Calendar
- 2012 Disaster Calendar: Collapse has already Begun
Fire Earth 