Decline in Ogallala Aquifer continues to affect Kansas farms, livestock

Randy Hazylett has spent 53 years managing the farm that has been in his family for nearly a century. But now the water is starting to run out.

Hazylett’s farm is in the southwest corner of Kearny County, Kansas, and he uses water from the Ogallala Aquifer. It is a body of water located under Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, Texas and other states. According to the Kansas Geological Survey, the Ogallala Aquifer supplies 70% to 80% of the water Kansans use daily.

According to the 2024 Ogallala Aquifer Summit Report, a quarter of the country’s crops and livestock are grown in the Ogallala region.

These crops and livestock contribute billions of dollars to the economy.

In some parts of the Aquifer, water has declined by 60%, according to the Kansas Geological Survey. This is due to extensive pumping of water out of the Aquifer that began after World War II, according to the Oklahoma State University.

Hazylett, whose irrigation farm produces a variety of crops like wheat, oats, and alfalfa, said that as water levels continue to drop, more overhead expenses will be needed, and keeping up with the declining water levels will become increasingly difficult.

Over the years, he has had to replace his wells several times to keep up with the decline. This costs from $100,000 to $200,000. If the water quality is not good, it can be hard on the components of his well, which adds to the cost.

Hazylett said these challenges have gradually grown over time due to the over-appropriations that started in the 1960s.

“We were aware that this was going to create a problem somewhere in the future, but we didn’t know when,” Hazylett said. “But we were aware that an over-appropriation like that was going to result in a problem.”

The aquifer is responsible for supplying 80 to 85% of the water for irrigated agriculture farms. These farms help to contribute more than $88 billion to the Kansas economy. An amount that will be hard to maintain if there is not an adequate supply of water.

Reasons for the decline

Jim Butler, senior scientist at the Kansas Geological Survey, said in an interview that one of the leading causes of the mass depletion of water was the issuing of too many water rights permits when the amount of water in the Aquifer was in abundance. He also said the Aquifer is declining due to excessive pumping.

“It doesn’t take a great leap of imagination to see continuation of past practices into the future is not going to end well for irrigated agriculture in many portions of Western Kansas,” Butler said. “Changes in water level are driven by stress on the system, and that stress is pumping.”

He said that by working with the groundwater management district, they will have to find a water level that is Q-stable, which is a pumping value that would lead to a water level change of zero. This allows water levels to remain stable over a longer period.

The decline in the Ogallala is not the only groundwater issue facing Kansas, either. Kansas’s alluvial aquifers, which are located next to rivers and streams, have also seen a decline largely due to irrigation.

Rex Buchanan, former director of the Kansas Geological Survey, said this has lessened stream flow.

State efforts

To address these concerns, the Kansas Legislature created the House Committee on Water a few years ago. This session, the committee passed HB2172, which creates a water program task force to evaluate the state’s water program.

“Protecting Kansas’ water is paramount for our generation and future generations of Kansans,” Rep. Lindsay Vaughn, an Overland Park Democrat, said in an email. “In passing HB 2172, the Legislature and Gov. Kelly are taking a critical step to ensuring we have a long-term strategic plan for a safe and secure water supply.”

Vaughn is the ranking minority member of the House Committee on Water.

Chair of the House Committee on Water, Rep. Jim Minnix, a Scott City Republican, said that the introduction of the water task force is a step in the right direction, since this would mean direct legislative involvement with the state’s water.

“I’m hoping we come up with a good structure that we can sell to the entire legislature so that we can fund it and expand the good conservation measures that are already happening in some areas of the state,” Minnix said.

He said that during this more recent legislative session, the committee introduced $7.3 million of new funding to the areas that have been heavily affected by declining water levels. He said there are water conservation areas in Wichita County that have almost reached Q-stable.

“They reduced their pumping of water by about 38% and are still raising the same crops and supporting the businesses in the community in their area,” Minnix said.

He also said that in Sheridan County, they have stabilized the aquifer so it is no longer declining in water.

“We have some good success stories out there to show people,” Minnix said.

Though he said that they are on a good trajectory, Minnix said he would like to see some increased funding. He wanted roughly $20 million in funding for water preservation this session.

Buchanan said he is happy with the work the Legislature did this session and felt they were more knowledgeable than they have been in the past.

“There are some legislators who have really taken it upon themselves to sort of say, ‘We’re not going to kick this can down the road any further. We’re going to try and deal with it,” Buchanan said.

Buchanan also said that he gives a lot of credit to Democrat Gov. Laura Kelly for prioritizing water issues.

“Water is vital to the livelihood of our communities and Kansans.” She also underscored the importance of funding in dealing with these issues,” Kelly said in a written statement.

Other statewide efforts

Butler said Kansas is uniquely positioned to deal with this issue. He said that one of the strengths Kansas has with its water is that the state considers surface water and groundwater as an integrated whole.

If one pumps water from an aquifer, they can draw water in from the surface water above it. He said there are many states that do not do that.

“That’s not the way nature is organized,” Butler said.