Responses

The article that I found is called New publication examines consequences of groundwater depletion to agriculture, by Texas A&M University. This article is talking about and provides an overview of a paper published by CAST, Council of Agricultural Science and Technology, which looks at the effects of groundwater depletion in the United States and specifically how it will affect agriculture. During the 1950s large scale, groundwater depletion had begun and it tripled by the 1990s and roughly 71% of that water was used for irrigation. The amount of water that is dedicated to agriculture will continue to increase as long as the population increases. “Ast the U.S. population increases, demands for more food production and water supplies will stress valuable water resources, especially in locations sensitive to droughts” (Texas A&M University, 2019). Some consequences that come along with the depletion of the groundwater are elevating costs of pumping the groundwater as well as, a reduced flow to surface water systems and ecosystems, and degradation of groundwater quality. There aren’t any quick fixes for this problem, but if actions to reverse these actions aren’t done soon then there will be a potential that the groundwater will never return to normal. “Strategies to mitigate impacts of aquifer depletion may include policy, technology and management options, which should take into account local/regional conditions, including hydrogeological factor, applicability to agricultural production systems and economic factors” (Texas A&M University, 2019). One solution to this problem won’t necessarily be applicable to the whole of the United States and therefore the world, so there needs to be multiple solutions that make this problem difficult to combat on a national and global scale.

There are some actions that are already in place, in the southern Ogallala aquifer region, “agricultural producers have adopted efficient advanced irrigation technologies such as low-pressure center-pivot irrigation systems and subsurface drip irrigation.” (Texas A&M University,2019)

Before doing research for this discussion post I didn’t know that there was a groundwater depletion problem, but after doing this assignment I can see that this could turn into a major problem in the future and since we have an understanding as to what this constant depletion of the groundwater could bring, the sooner actions can be taken, the better our chances can be to get the groundwater back to an amount that will bring less worry.  

What are other solutions that can be or have been implemented to combat the declining levels of groundwater?