Gavins Point Dam near Yankton, South Dakota The Ogallala Aquifer stretches from the Dakotas down to Texas, and supplies both drinking water and irrigation water for at least 10 states. For some time now, the water in the Ogallala Aquifer has been depleted by the fact the water removal and usage has taken place at a faster rate than the Aquifer can be regenerated by natural processes. This problem is easily solved. The Missouri River, in the Spring, moves massive amounts of water down from South Dakota, all the way down to New Orleans. This water is basically wasted, and, when there is a large amount of rain or snow, the excess water going down stream on the Missouri River can cause extensive soil erosion problems. To solve both these problems, pump stations with 6 foot diameter pipes can be installed above Gavin's Point Dam, by Yankton, South Dakota, and above Norfolk, Nebraska; another could be installed between Omaha and Lincoln, Nebraska, on the Missouri River; and another pump station by Nebraska City, Nebraska. The pipe would be place under water, about 60 feet down, and then would come up the shore and move several miles inland, and then a large mine type shaft would go straight down, and through the hard calcium-rock layer, and then into the Ogalla Aquifer itself, recharging the Aquifer with Missouri River Water. This could especially be done in the Spring months of March, April, and May. There, problem solved. Hopefully the Nebraska Legislature is smart enough to fund this project, or get the Corps of Engineers to do it. Who knows, they say the Nebraska Legislature is so stupid that alot of them are rooting for Oklahoma football. By the way, the States of Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas should help with this project too. They all benefit from Ogallala Aquifer water and Texas, for example, is taking out a huge amount of water without thinking about the future at all.
I was thinking the same thing when I found this blog post. The Platte and Missouri rivers both flow over the Ogallala Aquifer and both of these rivers are tributaries of the Mississippi river. The Mississippi river floods often causing billions of dollars of damage. If we can use data like snow pack levels in the areas the watersheds (drainage basins) that feed these two rivers, we would be able to predict when and how much water should be diverted from these two rivers into the Ogallala Aquifer. This water is causing extensive damage, so there is no reason NOT to use it for such a great purpose as recharging the Ogallala Aquifer. Without the Ogallala Aquifer, $20 billion a year of food and fiber leave the world supply.
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