T81 Assessing Groundwater Availability and Sustainability I

Monday, 1 November 2010
8:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Room 612

HIGH PLAINS GROUNDWATER AVAILABILITY STUDY: GROUNDWATER BUDGET ESTIMATES FOR THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER, USA

Paper number: T81-6
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 9:10 AM – 9:25 AM

Authors

Abstract

The High Plains Groundwater Availability Study, initiated by the U.S. Geological Survey’s Groundwater Resources Program, will refine both predevelopment and contemporary water-budget estimates for the entire High Plains aquifer and determine the current status of the aquifer’s groundwater resources. The High Plains aquifer is a nationally important resource that sustains approximately one fourth of the Nation’s agricultural production. Extensive withdrawals of groundwater have caused water-level declines in many parts of the aquifer and increased concerns about the long-term sustainability of the aquifer.

The principal groundwater-budget components included in this investigation of the High Plains aquifer include change in groundwater storage, groundwater withdrawals, and recharge. The change in groundwater storage from predevelopment to contemporary conditions will be computed from previously published work. The amount of groundwater withdrawn from the aquifer will be estimated using county-based water-use data from previously published work, previously published regional groundwater models, and a soil-water budget model that estimates irrigation-water demand and groundwater withdrawals. The rate of recharge to the aquifer will be estimated using previously published work, regional groundwater models, streamflow methods, and water-budget methods.