Millions of years ago, sediment from the Rocky Mountains was deposited in the High Plains. Over thousands of years, water dripped below the surface creating an underground water deposit called the Ogallala Aquifer. The water — which spans from South Dakota to Texas and was once the size of Lake Huron — at one point accounted for 30% of the crop and animal production in the U.S. Kansas accounts for about 10% of the water in the Aquifer, the third most of the eight states that can access the water. The Ogallala aquifer is the principal source of water for agriculture in western Kansas. It’s not an underground lake as some believe but saturated sediments that have been deposited over the past 35 million years. When we pull water from the aquifer, it’s a bit like sucking water out of a sponge made of rock, gravel, sand and other geologic materials. High capacity irrigation, such as center pivot sprinklers, have used groundwater faster than it can be replenished. Center pivot sprinklers can disperse hundreds of gallons per minute from a well, 24 hours a day, for weeks or months on end.
Source: Kansas City Breaking News & Sports | The Kansas City Star
