| Abstract: | The High Plains aquifer underlies 111.8 million acres (175,000 square miles) in parts of eight States--Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, New Mexico, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Texas, and Wyoming. Water-level declines began in parts of the High Plains aquifer soon after the beginning of substantial irrigation with groundwater in the aquifer area. This report presents water-level changes in the High Plains aquifer from the time before substantial groundwater irrigation development began (generally before 1950, and termed "predevelopment" in this report) to 2011 and from 2009-11. The report also presents total water in storage, 2011, and change in water in storage in the aquifer from predevelopment to 2011. The methods to calculate area-weighted, average water-level changes; change in water in storage; and total water in storage for this report used geospatial data layers organized as rasters with a cell size of about 62 acres. These methods were modified from methods used in previous reports in an attempt to improve estimates of water-level changes and change in water in storage.Water-level changes from predevelopment to 2011, by well, ranged from a rise of 85 feet to a decline of 242 feet. The area-weighted, average water-level changes in the aquifer were an overall decline of 14.2 feet from predevelopment to 2011, and a decline of 0.1 foot from 2009-11. Total water in storage in the aquifer in 2011 was about 2.96 billion acre-feet, which was a decline of about 246 million acre-feet since predevelopment. |
| Genre: | USGS Numbered Series |
| ProdID: | 70043402 |
| Citation Author: | McGuire, Virginia L. |
| Citation Contributing Office: | Nebraska Water Science Center |
| Citation Datum: | North American Datum of 1983 |
| Citation Day: | |
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| Citation End Page: | |
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| Citation Language: | English |
| Citation Larger Work Title: | |
| Citation LatN: | 43.48 |
| Citation LatS: | 31.76 |
| Citation LonE: | 96.0 |
| Citation LonW: | 106.0 |
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| Citation No Pagination: | |
| Citation Number Of Pages: | |
| Citation Online Only Flag: | Y |
| Citation Phsyical Description: | iv, 15 p. |
| Citation Projection: | Albers Equal-Area Conic |
| Citation Public Comments: | |
| Citation Publisher: | U.S. Geological Survey |
| Citation Series: | Scientific Investigations Report |
| Citation Series Code: | SIR |
| Citation Series Number: | 2012-5291 |
| Citation Search Results Text: | Water-level and storage changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2011 and 2009-11; 2013; SIR; 2012-5291; McGuire, Virginia L. |
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| Citation Year: | 2013 |
| Type: | citation/reference |
| Text: | Water-level and storage changes in the High Plains aquifer, predevelopment to 2011 and 2009-11; 2013; SIR; 2012-5291; McGuire, Virginia L. |
| URL (INDEX PAGE): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5291/ |
| URL (THUMBNAIL): | http://pubs.er.usgs.gov/thumbnails/sir_2012_5291.gif |
| URL (DOCUMENT): | http://pubs.usgs.gov/sir/2012/5291/sir2012-5291.pdf |
| Date Other: | Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:00 -0600 |
| Publisher: | U.S. Geological Survey |
