WSP10334

• File Number: 8407
• Description: Platte River Basin - River Basin General Publications
• State: CO
• Basin: South Platte
• Water Division: 1
• Date: 3/1/1982
• Author: Arthur D Little Inc
• Title: Six State High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer Regional Resources Study - Study Element B-9 - Dryland Farming Assessment
• Water Supply Pro - Doc Type: Report/Study

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II period of good farm commodity prices and cheap, abundant natural

gas and electricity to pump the water. Originally estimated to

contain 500 million acre feet under Texas soils alone*, the Ogallala

Aquifer was an incredible bonanza -- enough water to apply 12

inches a year for 50 years to ten million acres, nearly one-half

of the 35,000 square miles of rich Texas loam and at just the right

times to go with rainfall. Of course. it was not evenly distributed

under the Texas High Plains counties. Some aquifer zones were 50

feet thick, mainly in the far south, and others 500 feet thick,

mainly in the north. Depth to water was also uneven, ranging from

about 125 to 300 feet. Still, it was one of the most valuable of

the great mineral resources of Texas.

Map IV-5 defines the Ogallala Formation in West Texas and the

46 counties under which more or less of this immense ground water

reservoir is found. The contour lines outline saturated thickness

of water-bearing zones as of 1974, After nearly 25 years of quite

intensive well development and pumping since 1950, much of the

aquifer still has over 100 feet of saturated thickness. Southern-

most counties are seen to be least favored with storage. The Cap

Rock escarpment is clearly outlined. Note that much of Crosby
County and most of Garza County are not underlain by the ground
water aquifer. It is also apparent from the map that our study

*Hi9h Plains Underground Water Conservation District No. .1. An
Introduction to Water (undated booklet).

IV-25

Arthur D Little.lnc