Final Report: Organizing and Synthesizing Ogallala Aquifer Data to Facilitate Research and Resource Management
Dates
Publication Date
2023-01-19
Citation
Caitlin Rottler, and Renee McPherson, 2023-01-19, Final Report: Organizing and Synthesizing Ogallala Aquifer Data to Facilitate Research and Resource Management: .
Summary
The Ogallala Aquifer (OA) is a groundwater source beneath 111 million acres of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It provides water for aquatic, riparian, range, and agricultural ecosystems as well as approximately 1.9 million people. The various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing the aquifer are expected to increase with climate change. Hotter, drier summers are expected to increase already unsustainable demands on the aquifer’s water. There has been little success in reducing the rate of depletion, in spite of a preponderance of data available to support research, resource management, and outreach. Prior to this project, there was no single source of OA-relevant [...]
Summary
The Ogallala Aquifer (OA) is a groundwater source beneath 111 million acres of Wyoming, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas, and New Mexico. It provides water for aquatic, riparian, range, and agricultural ecosystems as well as approximately 1.9 million people. The various social, economic, and ecological challenges of managing the aquifer are expected to increase with climate change. Hotter, drier summers are expected to increase already unsustainable demands on the aquifer’s water. There has been little success in reducing the rate of depletion, in spite of a preponderance of data available to support research, resource management, and outreach. Prior to this project, there was no single source of OA-relevant data that researchers, decision-makers, and other stakeholders could access and interrelate, making it challenging to effectively use the data in support of science-informed decision-making. We approached this data access and interrelation challenge by building a single, searchable, internet-based directory of available Ogallala region datasets. This Ogallala Data Directory (ODD) acts as a virtual “phone book” of Ogallala region data. It allows users to locate and interrelate datasets relevant to their area of interest, and to approach emerging issues within the region, such as the effects of climate change and reduced aquifer water availability on human health or ecosystem services. To demonstrate an example use of the ODD, the map function also includes an overlay showing counts of active water wells by county for the entire Ogallala Aquifer Region. This visualization was made using datasets located within the ODD, which prior to the Directory took considerable effort to locate and access. The directory was built with the help of the Colorado State University’s Natural Resources and Ecology Laboratory (NREL), and an advisory committee of stakeholders provided input and feedback to ensure that the final product is both useful and user-friendly.
