Ogallala Aquifer, keeping most of state well-watered, continues to shrink in southwest Nebraska
The Ogallala Aquifer is healthy and even thriving in many parts of Nebraska. The state is maintaining much higher groundwater volume than many states to the south, according to UNL water experts and decades-long mapping from the U.S. Geological Survey. Between 1950 and 2017, available water in storage in Nebraska’s part of the aquifer decreased by merely 0.34%, markedly better than the aquifer’s 36% decline in Texas, according to a Flatwater Free Press analysis of USGS reports.
Groundwater level changes in Nebraska from predevelopment (about 1950) to 2022. Most parts of Nebraska have had higher or stable water levels, whereas southwest Nebraska and Box Butte County have seen a steady drop in groundwater levels. Map excerpted from the 2022 Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report, UNL