KU News Release

March 21, 2007
Contact: Brownie Wilson, Kansas Geological Survey, (785) 864-2118.

Measurements show groundwater levels continued to drop in 2006

LAWRENCE--Groundwater levels in central and western Kansas continued to decline in 2006, according to measurements made by the Kansas Geological Survey, based at the University of Kansas, and the Division of Water Resources of the Kansas Department of Agriculture.

While water levels continued a trend of decline in western Kansas, the water levels in central Kansas saw renewed decline after holding steady just the year before. Strong winter storms that hit western Kansas hampered data collection this year.

“The weather delayed measurement or prevented access to many wells,” said Brownie Wilson, water data manager at the survey. About 305 of the 1,428 wells in the network were not measured because of ice, snow or poor road conditions. The survey will attempt again to measure the wells that were missed.

“The weather delay and missed wells may have some influence on the water level comparisons between 2005 and 2006, so we're going out again in early April to try to fill in the holes within our coverage area,” Wilson said.

Preliminary data from western Kansas wells, most of them in the Ogallala aquifer, showed an average decline of about 0.94 feet since January 2006, compared to an average decline of about 0.57 feet in 2005. Because of the weather delay and missed wells, however, a meaningful comparison between 2005 and 2006 may not be available until next year.

Water levels in central Kansas were lower than previous years, according to the measurements. The Equus Beds area north of Wichita and Big Bend region of central Kansas showed a drop of about 2.17 feet and 1.29 feet, respectively, since January 2006. This compares to a 0.03-foot increase and a 0.11-foot decrease the year before.

“In central Kansas, the increased rate of decline in 2006 was probably due to lower annual precipitation,” Wilson said.

With less rainfall, irrigators generally need to pump more water to compensate, which results in a higher rate of decline. Factors such as changing crop patterns and energy prices can also influence irrigation.

“With the long snow-melt period, we might see some very limited groundwater recharge in a few areas of western Kansas, particularly in river valleys where the water table is somewhat closer to the ground surface,” Wilson said. “However, it would take years before any recharge from the snow melt reaches the large majority of the aquifer. Even then, there won't be enough water to stop the overall decline.”

The February 2007 measurements in northwestern Kansas showed a decline of 0.21 feet since January 2006. That compares to a decline of 0.59 feet from January 2005 to January 2006, and about 0.61 foot the year before that. Water levels in west-central Kansas declined, about 0.42 feet, compared to declines of about 0.37 feet the previous year and holding steady the year before.

In southwestern Kansas, the average well measured in February 2007 was down about 2.18 feet, compared to 1.15 feet the previous year and 0.39 feet from January 2004 to January 2005. Water levels were down about 1.29 feet in the Big Bend area of central Kansas, compared to holding steady the previous two years.In the Equus Beds area of central Kansas, the average well measured declined about 2.17 feet after holding steady last year and being up about a foot the previous year. From 1996 to 2005, water levels have held relatively steady, though they have varied from year to year.

The 2006 water level data are considered preliminary at this point and are subject to additional study and revision. Final review should be completed by the first week of April, when the 2006 measurements can be viewed and accessed online at http://www.kgs.ku.edu/Magellan/WaterLevels/index.html.

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