Groundwater Decline More Complicated Than Irrigation

Ground water across Texas has declined over the last eight years.  Mostly due to irrigation in agriculture and population growth.  However, a Texas A&M AgriLife Research study has identified other factors having an impact.

Groundwater decline has been the most server in the last four decades.  But not all the news is bad according to Dr. Srinivasulu Ale, AgriLife Research geospatial hydrology assistant professor in Vernon.

In a recent interview with South West Farm Press, Dr. Ale, who help write the book "Long-term (1930-2010) trends in groundwater levels in Texas: Influences of soils, land cover and water use," along with Dr. Sriroop Chaudhuri, said they conducted the study because by 2060 the states population is expected to double.  This will increase the demand for water at a time when water supply is expected to be reduced by 10%.

"We wanted to know which areas are more vulnerable to water shortages," he said.  "In order to plan and implement strategies to deal with the water level declines, we needed to know how these levels were declining spatially and temporally."