"They" have been talking about this for as long as I can remember. I took a semester at WT awaiting induction into the AF 1966 and took "Structural Geology" (a 4-hr course) during which this depletion was emphasized along with the geology of the Panhandle.

Of course T-Boone would have sold water rights under many Panhandle counties to Dallas - what? which is truly surrounded by lakes... just crazy! Fortunately it did not occur.


https://abc7amarillo.com/news/local/precious-commodity-being-used-faster-than-it-can-be-replenished

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CANYON, Texas (KVII) A conference is underway at West Texas A&M University about the dwindling supply in the country's largest aquifer.
Researchers believe the Ogallala Aquifer is being depleted faster than rain replenishes it. The conference is aimed at identifying the reasons for it and how to change that trend.
"We hear a lot about the Ogallala Aquifer all the time and I think that to some degree we hear about it so much that we stop listening," said Alex Hunt, Director of Center for the Study of the American West.
This is why the Center for the Study of the American West is holding a three-day conference at WT on a topic people acknowledge but more needs to be done.

Hunt tells ABC 7 News the emphasis is on how to communicate the understanding of the Ogallala Aquifer to the public to create a lively discussion.
"What does the future hold and certainly we want to cause a discussion about not managed depletion but sustainability," said Hunt. "How can we use this resource where it has a longer future. In many ways perception is reality and I think we have to start understanding the aquifer on a deeper level. We have to wrap our minds around its dynamics and rate of use with the aquifer."
No one knows for sure when the aquifer will be totally depleted. Some estimates say it could be as early as 2028, which is why farmers are reducing their use of irrigated water.
A recent study by the U.S. Geological Survey determined the water level dropped more in Texas than any other state that uses the Ogallala Aquifer.
On Saturday from 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. kids who attend the conference can participate in a number of educational activities aimed at educating the next generation about water conservation.

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This is a major crisis for Texas. They won't need all those make believe Tech trained vets out there if they don't have any water.

Just adding your word to my post makes it perfect.

Glad to help a friend!

As long as Texas has the "Rule of Capture" law subject only to water district regulation, it's enviable! Recharge is 0-5% of annual precipitation at best. There's no "future value" on water that I'm aware of. Does anyone want "big brother" to tell you what you can do with your property?

Will the Ogallala Aquifer ever be totally depleted? NO! Will Ogallala water likely impact the Texas High Plains? "Do bears **** in the woods?" Hell yes it will! What can you do? Try and repeal the laws of hydraulics and gravity! Besides, without Texas water law changes, there's not a lot any one farm or land parcel can do. If you don't use your water, your neighbor will!

EVEN building a MAGA wall won't solve this issue!

My opinions in doing irrigation research for 40+ years in NM, CA, & the last 30 years in the Texas High Plains.

Just make sure your last irrigated crop planted is native prairie grass! The USDA NRCS CRP did more to conserve water than most programs or research in my opinion. You can't conserve groundwater if you pump any of it But as of now, the land owner owns that water unless they have sold their water rights to it.

This issue is not just the Ogallala although I brought it up. Everywhere I have lived the issue of water is a topic of discussion - some places more than others.

San Antonio actually has a sales tax to support assisting the Edwards Aquifer - and SA routinely has restrictions on watering yards, etc.
https://www.google.com/search?q=san+antonio+express+news+edwards+aquifer&oq=san+antonio+express+news+edwards+aquifer&aqs=chrome..69i57.11991j0j7&sourceid=chrome&ie=UTF-8


I don't know where the Ogallala meets the Edwards - if at all? But "water" is a huge issue "everywhere" - in Texas especially west of I-35 all the way to the West Coast...
Having lived in SA, Austin, Amarillo, Altus, etc., I recall discussions and concerns for my entire lifetime..

And, not to derail - but having lived in Saudi, Bahrain, Kuwait, Lebanon - and yes even Iran (1978) - I can tell you that although "oil" has been the most talked about issue in the Middle East - "water" is the true reason the US is over there trying to keep the peace. Whether oil or water if the Middle East erupts, the world's economies will tank into a depression!

Point being "water" is an issue everywhere. The ogallala is just closer to home... I'm glad I do not live in LA!

https://www.worldwildlife.org/threats/water-scarcity

Spider69 said:

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As long as Texas has the "Rule of Capture" law subject only to water district regulation, it's enviable! Recharge is 0-5% of annual precipitation at best. There's no "future value" on water that I'm aware of. Does anyone want "big brother" to tell you what you can do with your property?

Will the Ogallala Aquifer ever be totally depleted? NO! Will Ogallala water likely impact the Texas High Plains? "Do bears **** in the woods?" Hell yes it will! What can you do? Try and repeal the laws of hydraulics and gravity! Besides, without Texas water law changes, there's not a lot any one farm or land parcel can do. If you don't use your water, your neighbor will!

EVEN building a MAGA wall won't solve this issue!

My opinions in doing irrigation research for 40+ years in NM, CA, & the last 30 years in the Texas High Plains.

Just make sure your last irrigated crop planted is native prairie grass! The USDA NRCS CRP did more to conserve water than most programs or research in my opinion. You can't conserve groundwater if you pump any of it But as of now, the land owner owns that water unless they have sold their water rights to it.

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How common are deep holes in the aquifer? I'm told that there even with near depletion, there are places where there would be water available for household use for a long time in those holes.

By the way, here's a map of the aquifer from the USGS:

By the way, we drilled our irrigation well in the 1950s and shut it down in the 1980s. It still had plenty of water, but my father figured out that after paying the costs of irrigating, we weren't making much more, if any, than we did from dryland. So the entire farm is now dryland.

One local farmer said that he never went into debt from farming until he started irrigating.

eric76 said:

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By the way, we drilled our irrigation well in the 1950s and shut it down in the 1980s. It still had plenty of water, but my father figured out that after paying the costs of irrigating, we weren't making much more, if any, than we did from dryland. So the entire farm is now dryland.

One local farmer said that he never went into debt from farming until he started irrigating.

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I can't argue with you. My research experiences had several to many years when dryland would be more profitable than irrigated lands, But irrigation technology has changed considerably since the 1980s, The advantage irrigation offers are a slightly wider diversity in crops depending on your location, Corn is seldom a Plains dryland crop option. Depending on location major dryland crop options are winter wheat, cotton, or grain sorghum. Sunflowers might fit in. Most successful dryland systems are multi-year rotations like wheat, sorghum, fallow. Long term continuous wheat yields are barely over 15 bu/ac. Seeding wheat at 1 to 1-1/2 bu/ac with harvesting & hauling costs at 3-5 bu/ac doesn't leave a huge profit if any pests or diseases are controlled. Rotating crops gets challenging with long residue herbicides . These are common problems with irrigation plus you have the extra capital & labor & maintenance costs. Cotton often greater dryland income potential but has its hazards, too. What dryland systems are you having the best success with?

http://thepampanews.com/agriculture/ogallala-aquifer-summit-amarillo-postponed-amid-covid-19-concerns

Ogallala Aquifer Summit in Amarillo postponed amid COVID-19 concerns

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"Enough of our participating and allied institutions have implemented out-of-state travel restrictions that would decimate our participation," Auvermann said. "This is too important of an interstate event to try to pull it off with a skeleton crew from one state."
He said updates on the rescheduling of the event will be posted on the 2020 Ogallala Aquifer Summit website.
Texas A&M AgriLife is co-hosting the summit with the Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project, the Kansas Water Office and the U.S. Department of Agriculture-Agricultural Research Service supported Ogallala Aquifer Program.
The Ogallala Aquifer underlies eight states Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming. The aquifer supplies water for about 25% of U.S. agricultural production and more than 40% of U.S. feedlot beef cattle. It also supplies drinking water for 82% of the people living within its boundaries.
"The 2020 summit is designed to give us an opportunity to think together and to let all the states overlying the Ogallala learn from one another and from their own experiments and efforts to manage water related challenges," Auvermann said.
The first Ogallala Aquifer Summit was held in 2018. The 2020 summit will be focused on tackling the tough questions involved in managing common-pool resources like the Ogallala Aquifer.
"While we regret needing to postpone the summit, we are excited about the opportunities we have now to build anticipation about and interest in this special event, with a tremendous group of speakers and participants already engaged," said Meagan Schipanski, assistant professor, Department of Soil and Crop Sciences at Colorado State University and Ogallala Water CAP co-director.

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Spider69 said:

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eric76 said:

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By the way, we drilled our irrigation well in the 1950s and shut it down in the 1980s. It still had plenty of water, but my father figured out that after paying the costs of irrigating, we weren't making much more, if any, than we did from dryland. So the entire farm is now dryland.

One local farmer said that he never went into debt from farming until he started irrigating.

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I can't argue with you. My research experiences had several to many years when dryland would be more profitable than irrigated lands, But irrigation technology has changed considerably since the 1980s, The advantage irrigation offers are a slightly wider diversity in crops depending on your location, Corn is seldom a Plains dryland crop option. Depending on location major dryland crop options are winter wheat, cotton, or grain sorghum. Sunflowers might fit in. Most successful dryland systems are multi-year rotations like wheat, sorghum, fallow. Long term continuous wheat yields are barely over 15 bu/ac. Seeding wheat at 1 to 1-1/2 bu/ac with harvesting & hauling costs at 3-5 bu/ac doesn't leave a huge profit if any pests or diseases are controlled. Rotating crops gets challenging with long residue herbicides . These are common problems with irrigation plus you have the extra capital & labor & maintenance costs. Cotton often greater dryland income potential but has its hazards, too. What dryland systems are you having the best success with?

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We just raise sorghum and wheat. When I was a kid, we also had cotton but that was always irrigated. We never did raise corn other than in the garden.

eric76 said:

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We just raise sorghum and wheat. When I was a kid, we also had cotton but that was always irrigated. We never did raise corn other than in the garden.

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Have you tried the wheat-sorghum-fallow rotation (//3 in wheat that goes to fallow; 1/3 sorghum after fallow; both wheat & sorghum harvested each year)?