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<br />THE KANSAS CITY STAR
<br />.. ~1Irn1~" In"""'''. 4,,'<1 .1(1 I_U~ \of..,,.,., F"rll/''''' J/ ......1'..,.. 1....,lId'''. .,<. ·
<br />.. m.,.,u"
<br />
<br />· 1339
<br />II" k n
<br />. rngatlon ta es a to
<br />on deep water supply
<br />
<br />By Dlrck SteImel
<br />tr,. Sr.. '.w',bo",,,,.,...:J'IOi'
<br />
<br />G ard~n City, Kan.-Th~ levt"1 of
<br />. tht' Ogallala Aquift"r. a water
<br />formation that" the Ilft"blood
<br />01 tht" _ Kansu economy. dropp<ed
<br />!harply In southwt"Sl Kansas in IVSS
<br />tour tlmt's the prevIous yt".1r" ded1n~
<br />and tar below the 20-ye.r .lV.fOrage.
<br />OffiCials warn that tht" watti level
<br />could (.all at leut .1.1 much thlA yt"&r.
<br />farmers thl! !pring already are
<br />pumping more than the U5ual amount
<br />of watt-i on dusty fil!'Id.!-u much as
<br />1.000 gallon! a minutt" per well. And
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />.
<br />
<br />Irriga don
<br />
<br />continued [rom pg. lA
<br />
<br />suck.ed dry by irrigation. So
<br />farmen could see e:q~nslve
<br />crops dit" in the helds while irri-
<br />gation wells pull up only air,
<br />The huge subterranean aquil-
<br />('r, which took millions 01 yun
<br />to form and contaw about as
<br />mucb water as Lake Huron, 1JI
<br />stHl a long way from running
<br />dry, ge-ologuu a~rt_ Most ex-
<br />perts ~timate that 1 S to 30 per-
<br />cent of tbe watu supply has ~D
<br />coruumed since Im2.00D began
<br />aftt'r World War U.
<br />. Measurements tbi. year
<br />sbowed tbat southwest Kanau
<br />well leveb droppe.:J 3 feet 00.
<br />average, mo~ thaD four timet
<br />tbe decline 1n 1987. The ner'le
<br />decline for the lut 21 yean bu
<br />been 1.8 ftet. The last steep
<br />drops OC'Curre-d in the late 19701
<br />and early 1980!.
<br />The sharp decline lhUl y('ar ls
<br />sending a shock wave through
<br />Karuas Some farmen. sUt(. of.
<br />ftclal! and ennronrnf"ntaluu
<br />worn' IhOlt the 1988 drop Is U::e
<br />fint indlcatlon that the Ojlallala
<br />mllY be OtOppin~ at a rate 5tH-p-
<br />er tMn pre\"iowly though.
<br />
<br />there Is no rain relld in siaht.
<br />Mean.hlle. change! in federal farm
<br />proiTams 3re encouraging Kansas
<br />fumen to plaot more acres of com
<br />a heavy user of waler.
<br />Experts warn that the aquifer's
<br />steep decline In SQutbwest KOlASU
<br />could caus.e irT1aaUon well.!l tn run dry
<br />thl. Sllmmer .II farmen, lockt'd into
<br />well deplht, pump water laster than
<br />can bre rf'pla~ by the aquifer. Water
<br />can move only abort dislances wlthm
<br />an aqullf'r, but It often takes months
<br />for that water to rf'ph'n~h areas
<br />
<br />SH lrn,ation, pg, 1<11\. col. J
<br />
<br />Eveotl1l.lIy, Irrigation could be
<br />t'C'Onomically impos..!lble 10 'Ilre!t-
<br />ern Kan.t,U aod acrDS.'l mm:t of
<br />the Great Plains, ~lil~ It costs
<br />mot'@ to pump wali!'r lbe det'pet' a
<br />"eil gOf!S, That miiht occur with-
<br />in SO yeu.., upem s..ay.
<br />"We aU k.no" It's gomi to run
<br />out do'\II"D the road," s.ald MArvin
<br />Odlen, a Subletli!', Ran., farmer.
<br />
<br />The Impact
<br />
<br />A .tftp. steady decline In lb.
<br />OaaUala AquiIer could Ioeverely
<br />butt the K..anu.a ecooomy. K.ao-
<br />su hu proflte-d nicely from lb.
<br />laX dollan lhat poured lD "ben
<br />Ill' "estern rei10n Juddenl, be--
<br />c.me the oaUoo's premier bfod
<br />Pr'OC'l!SSml area in the 1980&
<br />~ than 8,000 Jobs were creat-
<br />e-d., That IDCOme rippled through-
<br />out area commuaibes.
<br />TOda,. bJgb iTaln productioo
<br />from l.rrIaaUon glvP'3 the regioo .
<br />competitive advantage in nttle
<br />[H'dtni and ~f procI!'M1Di, !.lId
<br />Davtd Darl1ni, an f"Conomis1 at
<br />KaMAl State Lr'lI\'et'Sltv. a.e..
<br />cause gram u nearby. it l!'cbeap-
<br />er for ft'edlolS to purcha~.
<br />But o\'er Ume. a d~linJnr
<br />aQulfrr would hurt tbe Jf'e<1lot
<br />
<br />and meatpackmg industry F.\
<br />pE"nslve water would lorcr' mOl"
<br />and more of U1e r~llion's farm"r~
<br />to rt'vert to dryland farmtns;!
<br />Thai would rl"'du("r' hnn Incom"
<br />and hurt agnbu.slness in the fl"
<br />~Ion. A farmer who irri~at,.~
<br />spends far morE" monr'Y on sur-
<br />plies, maktng WE"Mern Kan"la~
<br />on(' of Ihe nation', best areas fOf
<br />allribuslne.s,j.
<br />It would also frdu('f" nrartl\'
<br />fef"d Iitrain supplies, hurtmg lh~
<br />feedlots and bed prO('f"ssnr'\,
<br />Darling said.
<br />The sharp drop In the Ollallal.1
<br />level In 1988 IS partlcularh'
<br />alannlng bl>cause the aqulfN'5
<br />nte of decline had 'lowed
<br />"Everything was workln~
<br />rillht to save watf'r," said Da\'ld
<br />Pope. chief englnf'E-r and dlrE-CIM
<br />of the Kan.sa.s Slate Board "r
<br />Aji:riculture's DiVISIon of Watf'f
<br />R~urces.
<br />Rules adopted by Kansas had
<br />Virtually .stopped the drilltnR Ilf
<br />any new well.!l in the Ogallala
<br />rf'litionof the state.
<br />And ~everal !actors h,1r1
<br />prompted farmers to pump les.s
<br />from exuting Wf'lls, including a
<br />federal farm program rf'qumng
<br />farmen to reduce the numbo>r of
<br />lilCr" they planted and IrriRaled
<br />At the same time. irrigaton cut
<br />back when prtce'! w~nt up for
<br />natural gat and other fUel~ used
<br />for blgh-powered engine.! that
<br />drive Ule wali!'r pump!,
<br />Finally, Ule weather in west-
<br />em Klnsas bad tumed unusually
<br />rainy for tt!venl yean runmng
<br />That bad allo"eod 1rr1gaton to
<br />cut do'\II"D on pumplnl,
<br />tPI.nllnl more
<br />
<br />But last year, several factors
<br />chanled and pu.sbed farmer! to
<br />pump mOM!' wali!'r. Raw d~rt.
<br />ed "estern Kaos.u after last
<br />IPrtna. Gra.ln pM,," Jurred. .al.so
<br />beeaUN of the drotlVlt. whlch
<br />gave lannen an 1n("enUve to
<br />lrr1aate more. And fuel pricM
<br />slabllhed. mak1D. 11 less costly
<br />to pump water,
<br />This year, the situ.tion rp-
<br />maw nurly the ....me.
<br />"Tbe l!COoom1cs ate in good
<br />shape ror lull-speoed production."
<br />said RolUe Stukenboltz. mana.o:f'r
<br />of Servt- Tecb Inc., .a crop ad\'lso-
<br />ry service based In Dodge ell \.
<br />Kan_ .
<br />Kans.as f3rm~n wUl plant I t
<br />millJon acres of com this Spnn.o:.
<br />12 per("ent more than ~as plant.
<br />ed a )'ear ago, accordlnlit to L'S
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