Northwest Kansas GMD 4, which saw well-below-average precipitation in 2022, experienced a drop of 1.31 feet in 2022 groundwater levels after declines of 0.53 feet in 2021 and 0.70 feet in 2020. GMD 4 covers Sherman, Thomas, Sheridan and parts of Cheyenne, Rawlins, Decatur, Graham, Wallace, Logan and Gove counties. Groundwater there is pumped from the Ogallala aquifer and shallow alluvial sources associated with streams. Even the well-known Sheridan 6 Local Enhanced Management Area, the first area of its kind of organized, local groundwater conservation efforts, struggled this year with larger water-level declines.
Source: KAKE – News
