Increasingly Clear That Those Now In Charge Of US Groundwater Will Never, Ever Slow Its Decline
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In Kansas, the power of the men who run Groundwater Management District 3 is enormous. Even though the district is in the driest part of Kansas, with an aquifer in dramatic decline, it accounts for half of all groundwater extracted statewide. Pressure is rising for change. State officials and experts want farmers and other users to pump less, noting that other districts have reduced water use through more efficient irrigation techniques and new technology. So far, the leaders of District 3 have refused.
Many of the landowners eligible to vote in district elections live elsewhere, renting out their farms but retaining control over water policy, said Lucas Bessire, an anthropology professor at the University of Oklahoma who wrote a book, “Running Out,” about the depletion of the aquifer beneath southwest Kansas.
Lindsay Vaughn, the 29-year-old state lawmaker who is leading efforts to tighten groundwater regulations, comes at the problem with the perspective of someone who could see the aquifer run dry in her lifetime. “If we don’t do anything differently, then there won’t be enough water left for people in my generation,” said Ms. Vaughn, who represents a Kansas City suburb. Last year, Ms. Vaughn, the top Democrat on the state’s water committee, tried to open elections for groundwater management districts to all local residents, part of a broader package of reforms. Her proposal was blocked by Mr. Newland, a Republican lawmaker at the time, who raises crops and cattle. Soon after, Mr. Newland became president of the Kansas Farm Bureau, the lobbying powerhouse for agriculture.
In an interview, Mr. Newland said that people who live in towns and cities don’t understand the value of groundwater to farming and would elect members to the district board who would cut water use. That would decrease the value of farmland, he said. Mark Rude, the water district’s executive director, defended restricting control of groundwater to large landowners. “It works pretty darn good for people that are invested in the land,” he said.
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https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/11/24/climate/groundwater-levels.html