The Ogallala Aquifer, a water source under farmland, cities and small towns from South Dakota to Texas, is in crisis.

The High Plains Aquifer, stretching from South Dakota to the Texas Panhandle, has begun giving out, leaving vast stretches of once verdant farmland in struggle and leaving little hope for a ...

It’s a minor aquifer that underlies part of the Ogallala, so it would be accessible to farmers and ranchers in the region. The High Plains Water District also oversees this aquifer.

Most of the wells measured by KGS and DWR tap into the High Plains aquifer, a massive network of underground water-bearing rocks and the main source of water in western Kansas.

Nearly 5,000 wells were measured in spring 2023 and spring 2024 to monitor changes, with 61% of the wells recording a decline.

Under the Great Plains, there's an aquifer powering the region's agriculture system. But it's running out of water, prompting farmers in middle America to consider more environmentally friendly crops.

The Ogallala aquifer (also known as the High Plains aquifer) covers 175,000 square miles, an area larger than the state of California, and spans eight states — Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming ...

Under the Great Plains, there's an aquifer powering the region's agriculture system. But it's running out of water, prompting farmers in middle America to consider more environmentally friendly crops.