Portions of the High Plains Aquifer are rapidly being depleted by farmers who are pumping too much water to irrigate their crops, particularly in the southern half in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Levels have declined up to 242 feet in some areas, from predevelopment - before substantial groundwater irrigation began - to 2011. Graphic: USGS / The New York Times

19 May 2013 (The New York Times) – Portions of the High Plains Aquifer are rapidly being depleted by farmers who are pumping too much water to irrigate their crops, particularly in the southern half in Kansas, Oklahoma and Texas. Levels have declined up to 242 feet in some areas, from predevelopment — before substantial groundwater irrigation began — to 2011. [cf. Vast stretches of Texas and Kansas farmland over the High Plains Aquifer no longer support irrigation – Refilling the aquifer would require hundreds, if not thousands, of years of rains]

An Underground Pool Drying Up