Yesterday, I spoke about our most endangered aquifers.   But, almost every one of our aquifers is in trouble- the sources of the bulk of our drinking water.

Consider the Farm Belt.  This portion of the US Midwest provides our corn, our wheat, and our animals.   Not all- just a very large portion (and that of the world, too).   And, most of those farms rely upon the Ogalla Aquifer.  Michigan State University has been studying this aquifer (supplying eight US states) for a while.  (As one of the US’ great ag/tech institutions, the state of our farms is among its critical academic concerns.)   Portions of that aquifer have already been depleted.  Which means that farms above those locations are no longer easily irrigated (or irrigated at all).

Maybe you don’t realize the size of these aquifers.   Consider a few facts.  The US Great Lakes- those five bodies of water- comprise 1/5 of the fresh surface water in the world.   Moreover, the 5 lakes comprise 95% of the US’ surface water.  And, the Ogalla Aquifer still has TWICE the amount of water contained within the Great Lakes, even though the aquifer has been depleted by about 30% so far.

It shouldn’t surprise you that 20% of the US cattle supply, corn crops, cotton yields, and wheat harvests rely on this aquifer.  Which means that the projection that 39% more of this aquifer will have been drained by 2060 or so is pretty scary.  (Remember, we discussed yesterday that aquifer recharge takes millennia.)

It also affects the value of the land- and whether one can get financing for crops and husbandry.  In Colorado, grassland (non-irrigated) is worth about $ 750 an acre and if crops are grown (without irrigation), the land value almost doubles to $ 1200 an acre.   But, if one is able to irrigate that land- the value skyrockets to almost $ 4500 an acre.

Why?   Consider that an acre of corn earns the farmer slightly more than $575 an acre.  Wheat- which doesn’t need as much water (and can even survive on non-irrigated land)- only brings in 35% as much- around $ 215 an acre.  (Don’t cry too much- it takes much less effort and cost to grow that wheat, so the profit drop is closer to 15% or so.)

The problem is that each state is deciding what it should do for this truly multi-state issue.  And, what each state allows or forbids still affect the other 7 states above the aquifer.  (To be honest, this is why the Great Lakes Commission was set up years ago- to coordinate the response of the contiguous states to that great surface water’s supply and conditions.)

Maybe we can get the federal government to get its act together and deal with this depleting resource.

Nah.  I doubt it, since we are still doing nothing about our infrastructure….

 

 

(Quatorze Juillet- July 14- Bastille Day… Time for all of us- not just the French- to free our political prisoners- and eradicate politically correct speech.)