Bret Rooney stands next to one of his water wells that provides irrigation for his crops. Many wells like this are abandoned after drying up across western Kansas.
The Ogallala aquifer is a critical source of water in western Kansas, and it’s running dry. It plays a major role in the daily lives of Kansans, even for people who don’t live on top of it.
HASKELL COUNTY, Kansas — For a farmer like Bret Rooney, not a day goes by that he doesn’t ponder the pond under his feet. That is the Ogallala aquifer.
The subsurface reservoirs trapped between fractured layers of rock and soil saved this region after the infamous Dust Bowl, and remain the source of economic life in the present day.
But that groundwater has been running out after generations of pumping to support agriculture and the state’s economy.
Rooney bundles up on a cold morning and drives his truck out to his water pumps. These pumps are the soul of most western Kansas farms, but he’s been aware that something has been wrong. From decommissioning pumps to water just not spraying at the same rate it used to.
“Since my first day farming, we’ve noticed things were going on,” Rooney said. “We felt the physical effects of the depletion of the water and we’ve had to make adjustments and changes.”
If losing a third of the state’s main water source sounds like a big deal, it’s because it is. But these farmers seem to be the minority in their concern.
“It’s not just a farmer’s issue. You’re gonna struggle, whether you depend on them or their services,” Rooney said.
Not only is the aquifer physically invisible, but this environmental crisis has been broadly ignored.
Depletion of the water supply would be a critical blow to major farming and beef industries, which would send reverberations across the state. Simply living farther east in places like Wichita, Topeka or the Kansas City area won’t make you immune to the effects of lost jobs and tax revenue.
But the potential upset hasn’t drawn attention among Kansans, overall. A recent survey from the Midwest Newsroom and Emerson College Polling found that 48% of Kansans said they have never heard of the aquifer.
That number came to no surprise to state officials and academics who work with Kansas water issues.
“In my personal interaction with some people in the city, they don’t really even know that we do have a problem below us,” Jonathan Aguilar, water resources expert for Kansas State University, said in an interview.
For some in Kansas, water is taken very seriously.
Large parts of the region have seen more than half of their water disappear since the dawn of irrigation. Wallace County on the Colorado border for example has lost roughly 80%. And Kansas State University predicts that in 75 years, almost all of the Ogallala aquifer in Kansas could be depleted.
For someone like Aguilar, the lack of awareness is frustrating. Even his children have heard the same speeches from him by now when he sees water being wasted.
“If I see the sprinkler going off right after a rainstorm, they say ‘Papa, don’t. Don’t be mad at them’,” Aguilar said.
But Aguilar suspects part of the reason for this imbalance of attention is plainly because western Kansas is less populated, leading to more focus on water issues in the eastern half of the state.
“That’s why there’s more emphasis on erosion or reservoirs, rather than groundwater conservation,” Aguilar said.
Most of eastern Kansas gets drinking water from rivers and reservoirs. But that still doesn’t mean those places are immune to the effects of the depleting aquifer.
Some people may not worry about something until it’s happening in their own backyard.
Connie Owen, director for the Kansas Water Office, said since Kansas water systems are connected, when water drops in one area, other places will feel it.
“If you deplete the groundwater, that’s going to deplete the stream flow and there are parts of northwest, north central Kansas where depletion of the Ogallala can impact the Kansas River basin,” Owen said.
That means that when the Ogallala continues to be over pumped, even if you live far away in Lawrence or Topeka, your water quality will be affected. Less stream flow means more sediments in rivers and reservoirs that northeast Kansas communities use for their drinking water.
And that is costly because it forces municipalities to develop more intense water treatment centers.
“The rest of the state will have to have to deal with the fallout and make up the difference,” Owen said.
Owen also believes preserving natural resources is the right thing to do. She said that alone should be reason enough to get people’s attention.
“If there is a natural resource that exists, I think that there is a moral obligation to be a good steward of that and not decimate that for profit,” Owen said.
About 85% of the water used in Kansas is for crops, but in western Kansas, that water is also needed for its residents. Losing that water will lead to more than just crops being thirsty.
The Ogallala aquifer is not just a natural resource, but it made the economic life of western Kansas possible.
Nathan Hendricks is an agricultural economist for Kansas State University. He said without its stability, thousands could lose their jobs, and be displaced due to a lack of water.
“Western Kansas, has a significant livestock industry that’s been built up. That’s really based on the aquifer production,” Hendrickson said.
Agriculture alone in Haskell County for instance contributes over $1 million to the state’s economy. That’s nearly $1,000 per person.
Farming in western Kansas powers an $11 billion beef industry, a multibillion-dollar food production industry and tens of thousands of jobs, all of which have some direct connection to the groundwater.
Including indirect and induced effects, agriculture and agriculture-related sectors have a total impact of $81.2 billion in output and 253,614 jobs in Kansas.
A major drop in water resources would wreak havoc on the entire state’s economy.
Officials have said education will need to be part of the solution to get more eyes on the Ogallala aquifer.
Brayden Schumaker is a student at Kansas State University studying geology. He is really passionate about the Ogallala aquifer in Kansas but said other young people around him aren’t, even in some environmentally conscious circles.
But there’s reason to hope that there could be water left for Schumaker’s generation in the future. If more people pay attention to the problems at hand.
“If people really cared about environmental issues within Kansas, we can start solving them right now and not later,” Schumaker said.
Last year the Legislature and governor approved a law that requires groundwater management districts in western Kansas to develop water-saving plans. It also says that the districts need to do more outreach in the communities and get communities more involved in water conservation solutions. Action and outreach should be expected in the regions where it’s needed most, but outreach is still needed outside of western Kansas.
The Kansas Water Office, based in Topeka, is also pushing to teach about the Ogallala aquifer in schools.
Back in Haskell County, farmer Bret Rooney surveys the land that sits above the Ogallala aquifer. He said that this is something everyone should know about.
“Every single one of us relies on water, whether you’re in agriculture production like me, or you want to have a nice, soft lawn for your kids to go play on,” Rooney said. “It touches us all.”
The Kansas News Service ksnewsservice.org.
