The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in the United States and one of the largest in the world. It overlies 111.8 million acres in parts of eight states: Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota and Wyoming, an area referred to as the High Plains. For more than 80 years, the aquifer has played an essential role in the economic development of the High Plains by supplying water for agriculture and municipalities. Irrigating crops with aquifer water began extensively in Kansas and Texas after the 1950s drought. Today, the aquifer supplies water for about a quarter of U.S. agricultural production and more than 40 percent of U.S. feedlot beef cattle. More than 95 percent of the water pumped out of the aquifer is used for irrigated agriculture. It also supplies drinking water for 82 percent of the people who live within its boundaries. The Ogallala Aquifer Program (OAP) and the Ogallala Water Coordinated Agriculture Project (Ogallala Water CAP) are two USDA-funded projects that are examining ways to extend the life of the aquifer and sustain agriculture and the rural economy. TxH2O recently asked the two projects’ leads to talk about the projects, their objectives, significant accomplishments and the future. Read more…