Rural areas at risk as water levels drop in massive aquifer

The draining of a massive aquifer that underlies portions of eight states is drying up streams, causing fish to disappear and threatening the livelihood of farmers who rely on it for their crops.

The Denver Post reports that it analyzed federal data and found the Ogallala aquifer shrank twice as fast over the past six years compared with the previous 60.

Also known as the High Plains Aquifer, the Ogallala underlies 175,000 square miles including portions of Colorado, Wyoming, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas.

The U.S. Geological Survey said in a June report that the aquifer lost 10.7 million acre-feet of storage between 2013 and 2015.

Water levels in the Ogallala have been dropping for decades as irrigators pump water faster than rainfall can recharge it.