World's largest aquifer going dry
Thu, 23/02/2006
In recent weeks, this oil-and-gas town of 6,000 has been looking into buying water -- perhaps $190,000 worth of the stuff.
The Ogallala aquifer, the vast underground pool that feeds faucets across the Great Plains, is running low, forcing farmers and towns to find other sources of water and pay dearly for it, too.
The Ogallala aquifer is the world's largest underground water system, irrigating one-third of the nation's corn crops and providing drinking water to Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. It contains enough water to cover the entire United States to a depth of one and one-half feet.
The Ogallala aquifer, the vast underground pool that feeds faucets across the Great Plains, is running low, forcing farmers and towns to find other sources of water and pay dearly for it, too.
The Ogallala aquifer is the world's largest underground water system, irrigating one-third of the nation's corn crops and providing drinking water to Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas and Wyoming. It contains enough water to cover the entire United States to a depth of one and one-half feet.