CLIMATE CHANGE | Special Report: Massive Ogallala Aquifer critical to farming communities at risk
Jared Faurot’s blue jeans are getting sprayed under the drip hose sprinklers.
Faurot stands beside a center pivot tower, fiddling with a spigot, aiming it closer to the ground. He turned water on this field two weeks ago and ever since the wheat has sprung up and started marching toward harvest.
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The Ogallala Aquifer underlies parts of Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming
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For western Kansas like Jared Faurot, water from the Ogallala Aquifer is the lifeblood of farming families and communities.
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Jared Faurot farms thousands of acres of wheat, corn and sorghum in Scott County, Kansas, part of the 4-County LEMA district that aims to reduce water use to stabilize Ogallala Aquifer levels.
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While not directly a large consumer of water from the Ogallala Aquifer (around 3% of total use, mainly for stock water) animal feedlots on the High Plains have established a large market for locally grown animal feed, specifically corn. When irrigation technology emerged in the 1960s that allowed large-volumes of water to be pumped for agriculture, more farming acres were converted into growing corn, which attracted feedlots to the region.
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This irrigation well on Faurot’s farm in Scott County, Kansas, goes down to 180 feet, tapping into the Ogallala Aquifer at around 139 feet.
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Through a LEMA cost-share program, Jared Faurot installed pump monitors to track water consumption at each well. In 2024, four of five of his wells reported stable aquifer levels and one reported a rise of a foot.
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