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2016 Critical Issues Forum: Addressing Changes in Regional Groundwater Resources: Lessons from the High Plains Aquifer

Thursday, October 27, 2016

Groundwater is often a "transboundary" resource, shared by many groups of people across town, county, state, and international boundaries. Changes in groundwater resources can create unique challenges requiring high levels of cooperation and innovation amongst stakeholder groups, from individuals to state and federal government.

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA), which spans eight states from South Dakota to Texas, is overlain by about 20 percent of the nation’s irrigated agricultural land, and provides about 30 percent of the groundwater used for irrigation in the country according to the U.S. Geological Survey. Work by the Kansas Geological Survey indicates that some parts of the aquifer are already effectively exhausted for agricultural purposes; some parts are estimated to have a lifespan of less than 25 years; and other areas remain generally unaffected (Buchanan et al., 2015).

The 2016 Critical Issues Forum was a 1-½ day meeting covering multiple aspects of groundwater depletion in the High Plains. Presentations covered the current state of the High Plains Aquifer and water usage from scientific, legal, regulatory, economic, and social perspectives. State-specific perspectives were provided from Kansas, Nebraska, Texas, and Oklahoma, and a variety of issues were discussed surrounding communication, negotiation, policy, and the influence of climate change. Break-out sessions and participant discussions identified lessons learned and best practices from the High Plains Aquifer experience that might apply to other regions facing changes in the Earth system.

The Forum was hosted by the Payne Institute for Earth Resources at the Colorado School of Mines, and sponsored by the Geological Society of America, the National Ground Water Association, the American Institute of Professional Geologists, the National Association of State Boards of Geology, and the Association of American State Geologists.

For more information about the Forum, including the final report, please visit the 2016 Critical Issues Forum home page.

2016 Forum: Selected Footage

2016 AGI Critical Issues Forum: Final Report

Widespread use of groundwater for irrigation in the United States emerged in the early- and mid-20th century, with withdrawals growing for decades subsequent as more — and higher capacity — wells were drilled. Access to abundant groundwater allowed farmers to grow more food on more land and to better withstand crop-withering droughts. The ensuing agricultural boom fed a growing U.S. population and fueled increasing national health, prosperity and food security. Today, roughly 11 percent of U.S.

David R. Wunsch

State Geologist and Director, Delaware Geological Survey

David R. Wunsch is the Director and State Geologist of the Delaware Geological Survey (DGS).  Dr. Wunsch formerly served as the Director of Science and Technology for the National Ground Water Association (NGWA), and as an associate editor of the journal Groundwater. He was the State Geologist of New Hampshire from 2000 to 2010, and is a Licensed Professional Geologist in Kentucky, New Hampshire, and Delaware. Wunsch served as President of the Association of American State Geologists (AASG), and is a member of the federal Subcommittee on Ground Water (SOGW), which developed a framework for monitoring the Nation’s groundwater resources. Dr. Wunsch is a Fellow of the GSA. He received the 1999 Outstanding Kentucky Geologist Award, and in 2014 the American Geosciences Institute’s Outstanding Contribution to the Understanding of Geoscience award.

Steven D. Walthour

General Manager, North Plains Groundwater Conservation District, Texas

Steve Walthour is the General Manager of the North Plains Groundwater Conservation District. He has 28 years experience in subsurface geology and groundwater management. Steve holds a Master’s Degree from the University of Arkansas and is a licensed professional geoscientist in the State of Texas (License No. 1582).

Susan Stover

Outreach Manager, Kansas Geological Survey, University of Kansas

Susan Stover, P.G., is Outreach Manager at the Kansas Geological Survey. She worked in water policy, water resource planning and environmental remediation for the State of Kansas for 20 years, before joining the Survey in 2014. Her experience includes working with stakeholders on programs and policies to conserve the High Plains aquifer; organizing conferences on water and on teaching evolution; and hosting field trips for state legislators. She holds an M.S. in geology, University of Kansas, and a B.A. in geology, University of Nebraska. Stover is a Geological Society of America Fellow and vice-chair of GSA’s Geology & Society Division.

Kyle E. Murray

Hydrogeologist, Oklahoma Geological Survey, University of Oklahoma

Dr. Kyle E. Murray is a Hydrogeologist for the Oklahoma Geological Survey (OGS) at the University of Oklahoma (OU).  His research covers a broad spectrum of topics in Oklahoma & the mid-Continent including water issues in the energy sector, regional water supply, contaminants of emerging concern (CEC), and wastewater reuse in the municipal and industrial sector.  He is a member of the Oklahoma City Geological Society (OCGS), Geological Society of America (GSA), National Ground Water Association (NGWA), American Geophysical Union (AGU), and the International Association of Hydrogeologists (IAH) where he serves as an Associate Editor for Hydrogeology Journal.

John E. McCray

Professor and Head, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

John McCray is Professor and Head of the Civil & Environmental Engineering Department at Colorado School of Mines, specializing in hydrology, water resources, and water quality. He is currently Mines PI of the NSF Engineering Research Center for urban water, ReNUWIt, the first ERC for water. He is a member of the U.S. EPA Science Advisory Board, a Fellow of the ASCE Environmental and Water Resources Institute, and was a Fulbright Fellow to Chile for water resources. He earned his PhD in hydrology and water resources from the University of Arizona, and a BS in engineering from West Virginia University.

Wendy J. Harrison

Professor, Geology and Geological Engineering, Colorado School of Mines

Wendy J. Harrison is a tenured Professor of Geology and Geological Engineering at Colorado School of Mines.  Her fields of scholarly expertise are in geochemistry and hydrology as well as geoscience education and she has published papers in topics that range from impact shock metamorphism in lunar materials, the formation of gas hydrates and their role in CO2 sequestration, metals uptake by trees in mined lands, and mitigating respiratory quartz dust hazard.  Dr. Harrison recently completed an appointment at the National Science Foundation as Division Director for Earth Sciences in the Geosciences Directorate. She currently serves as an academic advisor to the Petroleum Institute, Abu Dhabi and Nazarbayev University, Kazakhstan.  Her work experience includes 8 years as a senior research geologist for Exxon Production Research Company in Houston, Texas.

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