Energy Pricing Structures Promote Increased Use of Scarce Groundwater Resources in the High Plains Aquifer Region

Groundwater supports irrigated agricultural production throughout the United States. However, in many of the most agriculturally productive aquifers in the United States, rates of pumping exceed natural recharge, which decreases groundwater stocks. Persistent decreases in groundwater stocks threaten...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Amber waves 2022-02, Vol.2022, p.1-4
Main Author: Hrozencik, Aaron
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural cooperatives
Agricultural economics
Agricultural Finance
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Aquifers
Drinking water
Energy
Farm Management
Groundwater
Groundwater irrigation
Groundwater recharge
High plains
Irrigation
Natural recharge
Water resources
Water shortages
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Summary:Groundwater supports irrigated agricultural production throughout the United States. However, in many of the most agriculturally productive aquifers in the United States, rates of pumping exceed natural recharge, which decreases groundwater stocks. Persistent decreases in groundwater stocks threaten the future of groundwater-fed irrigated agriculture. The High Plains Aquifer (HPA, also known as the Ogallala Aquifer) is among the most important groundwater resources in the United States, underlying areas in eight States of the Central United States: Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. It supports irrigated agricultural production and provides drinking water for residential use among other uses. Intensive pumping of the HPA for agriculture and other purposes has led to growing concerns about the depletion of the aquifer and the future of the irrigated agricultural sector it supports.
ISSN:1545-8741
1545-875X
DOI:10.22004/ag.econ.320275