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   from the issue of November 8, 2007

     
 
  UNL researchers compile data into hydrologic map

Groundwater declines slowed in Nebraska

 BY KELLY HELM SMITH, SCHOOL OF NATURAL RESOURCES

Groundwater levels in Nebraska slowed their decline and even rose in some areas last year, according to data compiled by UNL researchers.

Above-normal precipitation after seven years of drought, well-timed rains and more efficient irrigation practices all may be factors in the relatively good news reflected on the latest groundwater level maps, said Mark Burbach, an assistant geoscientist in UNL's School of Natural Resources.

One-year increases were noted along the Platte River from Columbus to Fremont, south into Butler and Saunders counties and north into Dodge County. Increases also were recorded in central Nebraska along the Platte and Republican rivers.

On the map, white areas indicate no change, or stable groundwater levels, with oranges and reds indicating declines and greens and blues showing increases.

"These maps are the way we check the health of our hydrologic resources at annual intervals," said Mike Jess, associate director of the UNL Water Center. "We would like to see the map look white. Instead, if you look at the series of maps over time, you see areas that start out lighter and then get darker and finally red."

Groundwater monitoring maps from 1954 to spring 2007, and an updated map of the density of irrigation wells, are available online at http://snr.unl.edu/information/GroundwaterMaps.asp.

Over the long term, Jess said, areas of declining groundwater stand out.

Box Butte, Chase, Perkins and Dundy counties show drops of more than 40 feet in some areas, comparing the earliest measurements with this year's. Along the Platte River, extending south between the Big Blue and Little Blue rivers, and north to the South Loup River, declines are generally less than 20 feet.

Burbach noted that western Nebraska has not benefited in the short term from the above-normal rains that have helped the rest of the state. Also, since the 1980s and 1990s, two of the wettest decades on record, groundwater levels in eastern Nebraska were mostly back to where they were when measurements first were recorded.

Burbach compiled data for the maps based on measurements recorded from nearly 6,000 wells taken by 27 organizations. The map is based on readings as close to April 1 as possible, before the start of the irrigation season.


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