In Kansas, a drought year like this
might have been devastating if not for the new pumping systems that
make it much easier for farmers to pump out water at an exponentially higher
rate than they could before. These same pumping and irrigation systems that are
benefitting the arid Kansas environment are ironically drying up the irreplaceable
resources of the water underneath the prairie so quickly that this generation
of farmers may be the last to have access to this water. The High Plains
Aquifer (where Kansas farmers have been getting their water from for
generations) used to have enough water to fill multiple Great Lakes, and now
enough water is pumped out every year to run Niagra Falls for three weeks
straight. To help slow the decline of the aquifer, Kansas stopped new development
on the aquifer many years ago, and last year the government there began
enforcing harsh penalties for over pumping. Even after all this, farmers still
want to manage the decline of the aquifer, not just punish when people hurt it
even more. I feel that the water from the aquifer should be rationed evenly among its users, regardless of how big their farm is/how much water they need. There would be backlash from the larger farms, but it is the only way to conserve the aquifer for as long as possible.
Is there any pricing rate that farmers have to pay in order for them to receive those water? I'm pretty sure that farmers doesn't want their income to be decline just because they cant get enough to feed their crops and plants. since the high plain and the prairie are drying up, maybe they could find water source from a different place and link it to Kansas? If not, doesn't it sound like a fantastic idea?
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