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The decline of Southwestern Kansas: a history of groundwater management in Southwestern Kansas
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The decline of Southwestern Kansas: a history of groundwater management in Southwestern Kansas
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Description
Author
Stevens
,
Curtis
Title
The
decline
of
Southwestern
Kansas
: a
history
of
groundwater
management
in
Southwestern
Kansas
Degree Program
History
Abstract
The
Ogallala
Aquifer
is
an
underground
supply
of
water
that
stretches
from
South
Dakota
into the
panhandle
of
Texas
.
It
serves
as the
lifeblood
of
Southwestern
Kansas
'
economy
. The
Southwestern
Kansas
Groundwater
Management
District
(SWKGMD)
is
one
of the
largest
groundwater
regulating
districts
over
the
Ogallala
Aquifer
. The
Ogallala
Aquifer
was
once
thought
of as an
infinite
supply
of
water
in the
early
1900s
with the
drilling
of the
first
irrigation
wells
.
Over
the
last
hundred
years
however
,
thanks
to the
assistance
of
hydrology
and
geology
, the
aquifer
proved
finite
like
many
other
precious
commodities
in
nature
. In the
early
1970s
, the
Kansas
State
Legislature
created
groundwater
management
districts
with the
purpose
of
resolving
the
question
of
local
regulation
versus
state
intervention
. With the
adoption
of this
new
law
,
each
county
in a
designated
district
would be
responsible
for
electing
an
individual
to
serve
on the
board
once
a
district
was
organized
. In
order
to
serve
on the
board
the
elected
person
had to
utilize
one
acre-foot
of
water
per
year
or
own
forty
contiguous
acres
.
Consequently
,
large-scale
irrigators
became
involved
in
water
regulation
.
Over
the
next
twenty-
five
years
the
district
continued
to
produce
educational
forums
,
conservation
pamphlets
, and
quick
fix
-
it
policies
but
little
or
no
action
was
rendered
to
restrict
excessive
and
wasteful
water-usage
by
large
scale
irrigators
.
Though
efficiency
improved
with the
implementation
of
sprinklers
and
slow
drip
systems
, the
water
table
still
continued
to
decrease
.
Moreover
,
state
water
regulation
policies
and
economics
encouraged
farmers
to
exploit
the
Ogallala
Aquifer
further
.
Simultaneously
, the
SWKGMD
Board
of
Directors
(BOD)
began
to
utilize
the
district's
experts
'
hydrological
studies
as
merely
a
clock
measuring
how
much
time
they had
left
to
exploit
the
water
rather
than a
warning
signal
to
create
policies
to
help
reduce
usage
or
obtain
a
zero
depletion
recharge
rate
like
other
Groundwater
Management
Districts
(GMD)
throughout
Kansas
.
Such
exploitative
policies
have
now
left
Southwestern
Kansas
in a
precarious
state
.
Throughout
most
of the
region
only
a
twenty-five
year
supply
of
water
remains
left
to
utilize
.
After
twenty-five
years
irrigation
will
prove
cost-prohibitive
to
extract
water
due
to the
decreasing
water
table
. The
implications
of
water
usage
yesterday
and
today
will
eventually
determine
the
ultimate
fate
of
Southwestern
Kansas
'
future
generations
. In any
case
, the
past
actions
of
SWKGMD
BOD
will be
linked
directly
with the
understanding
of that
inevitable
fate
.
Date Original
2002
Publisher
Fort Hays State University
Relation
Digital reproduction of the Fort Hays State University Theses Collection.
Type
Text
Format
application/pdf
Identifier
StevensCurtis_2002_web.pdf
Source
LD2652 .T5 H5 S733 2002
Language
eng
Relation-Requires
Adobe Reader is required to view this item. Download at
http://get.adobe.com/reader/.
Rights
Copyright 2002 Curtis Stevens
Access Requirements
Off campus access to Forsyth Library Resources -
http://www.fhsu.edu/library/electronic/off-campus-access/
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