A slow-moving crisis threatens the U.S. Central Plains, which grow a quarter of the nation’s crops. Underground, the region’s lifeblood – water – is disappearing, placing one of the world’s major food ...

Stretching across Iowa, Illinois, Indiana, Nebraska, and several neighboring states, the Corn Belt has long been the backbone ...

HAYS — In increasingly dry western Kansas, underground water makes everything possible. Irrigation for crops. Stock water for cattle. Drinking water for towns. In all, the Ogallala Aquifer provides 70 ...

A stony outcropping of the sponge-like rock that makes up the Ogallala Aquifer is exposed in the hills high above Scott State Fishing Lake in Scott County, Kansas. The lake is spring-fed from water ...

The Ogallala aquifer is a critical source of water in western Kansas, and it’s running dry. It plays a major role in the daily lives of Kansans, even for people who don’t live on top of it. HASKELL ...

In the aftermath of one of the driest years on record for our region, the consequences have come in multiples. Several crops saw their worst production numbers in decades; the economy took a major hit ...

Sprinklers irrigate a field in Hamilton County, Kansas. Decades of irrigation have slowly drained the Ogallala Aquifer. Aquifer levels in parts of western Kansas that rely on groundwater for ...

What are the major challenges in conserving groundwater in the Ogallala Aquifer region? What strategies are needed to help preserve this natural resource? What can be done to help sustain rural ...

A proverbial Who’s Who of water management in the High Plains region is expected for the 2024 Ogallala Aquifer Summit, set for March 18-19 at the Seward County Fairgrounds in Liberal, Kansas. The ...

Editor's note: Viewing this story in our app? Click here for a better experience on our website. Millions of years ago, sediment from the Rocky Mountains was deposited in the High Plains. Over ...