Kansas water supply on the decline
8:49 p.m. Friday, August 8, 2008
The Midwest could not carry on its agricultural livelihood without a good source of water. The Ogallala Aquifer, which makes up more than 80-percent of that water source, goes to irrigating Kansas crops. Unfortunately, that water source is drying up. And, if we have a dry spell, you might wonder if you will have access to less water than usual.
K-State Extension and U.S. Irrigation Specialist, Dr. Dan Rogers, assures us that Kansas' water supply is set up in a way that water rights can be easily moved from the agriculture sector to the public sector.
"All the water in the state belongs to the people, and the water that is put to use goes through the appropriation procedure; and, there is a mechanism to move that water from one form of use to another," said Rogers.
Dr. Rogers stresses that current irrigation practices across Kansas are very efficient; only a small portion of the water they deposit on crops is lost.
"We are approaching the level that we can feasibly get to. We are probably in the high-80's, low-90's, overall irrigation efficiency," said Rogers.
The efficiency is accounted for by determining exactly how much water is needed for each crop. Determining just how much water a crop really needs is very different from how many Kansans use their percentage of water, which is generally for recreation, including watering lawns.
"We're concerned about maintaining a quality appearance rather than we are on a yield," said Rogers.
That means we waste a lot of water on our lawns just to make them look good. Rarely is each plant given just the right amount of water it needs. Kansas irrigation, on the other hand, has been highly studied, and just the right amount of water is placed on each crop.
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