Bloomberg Businessweek had an interesting article last week on the rapid depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer, a huge underground water source that feeds agricultural irrigation in most of the central Plains. The aquifer is being rapidly depleted by overuse in many places, leading farmers to consider the need to switch from corn to less water intensive crops as the water becomes harder to reach.
What would you do if forced to farm without irrigation? While a complete cutoff is unlikely except in the most severely depleted areas, changes in the delivery of water and the mix of crops are likely in the future.
You can read the article at https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2015-07-02/great-plains-water-crisis-aquifer-s-depletion-threatens-farmland.
EarthSky also had an article recently describing how many of the earth’s aquifers, not just the Ogallala and the California aquifers, are over-utilized. You can read that article here.
