Water-level and storage changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2011 and 2009-11
Scientific Investigations Report
2012-5291
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Abstract
The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States--Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area. This report presents water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from the time before substantial groundwater irrigation development began (generally before 1950, and termed "predevelopment" in this report) to 2011 and from 2009-11. The report also presents total water in storage, 2011, and change in water in storage in the aquifer from predevelopment to 2011. The methods to calculate area-weighted, average water-level changes; change in water in storage; and total water in storage for this report used geospatial data layers organized as rasters with a cell size of about 62 acres. These methods were modified from methods used in previous reports in an attempt to improve estimates of water-level changes and change in water in storage.Water-level changes from predevelopment to 2011, by well, ranged from a rise of 85 feet to a decline of 242 feet. The area-weighted, average water-level changes in the aquifer were an overall decline of 14.2 feet from predevelopment to 2011, and a decline of 0.1 foot from 2009-11. Total water in storage in the aquifer in 2011 was about 2.96 billion acre-feet, which was a decline of about 246 million acre-feet since predevelopment.
Suggested Citation
McGuire, V.L., 2013, Water-level and storage changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2011 and 2009-11: U.S. Geological Survey Scientific Investigations Report 2012-5291, iv, 15 p., https://doi.org/10.3133/sir20125291.
ISSN: 2328-0328 (online)
Study Area
| Publication type | Report |
|---|---|
| Publication Subtype | USGS Numbered Series |
| Title | Water-level and storage changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2011 and 2009-11 |
| Series title | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Series number | 2012-5291 |
| Subseries | Groundwater Resources Program |
| DOI | 10.3133/sir20125291 |
| Year Published | 2013 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Publisher location | Reston, VA |
| Contributing office(s) | Nebraska Water Science Center |
| Description | iv, 15 p. |
| Country | United States |
| State | Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, Wyoming |
| Datum | North American Datum of 1983 |
| Projection | Albers Equal-Area Conic |
| Scale | 2000000 |
| Online Only (Y/N) | Y |
| Additional Online Files (Y/N) | N |