How does center pivot irrigation affect conservation of the Ogallala Aquifer water resources?

How does center pivot irrigation affect conservation of the Ogallala Aquifer water resources?

Center pivot irrigation using a LESA (Low Elevation Spray Application) system uses less water and reduces evaporation. Providing a reliable water source for ranchland has resulted in improved water quality in the Ogallala Aquifer.

What are the benefits of Centre pivot irrigation?

Benefits. Center-pivot irrigation uses less labor than many other surface irrigation methods, such as furrow irrigation. It also has lower labor costs than ground-irrigation techniques that require digging of channels. Also, center-pivot irrigation can reduce the amount of soil tillage.

How are aquifers affected by irrigation?

Groundwater depletion in the irrigated High Plains and California Central Valley accounts for ∼50% of groundwater depletion in the United States since 1900. Reducing irrigation withdrawals could extend the lifespan of the aquifer but would not result in sustainable management of this fossil groundwater.

What is the main problem with the Ogallala Aquifer?

Aside from the devastating effects on agriculture, a study recently published by a team of stream ecologists concluded that depletions to the Ogallala Aquifer are also leading to fish extinctions in the region. Streams and rivers that depend on the aquifer are drying out after decades of over-pumping.

What happens when the Ogallala Aquifer runs out?

In some places, the groundwater is already gone. This is the breadbasket of America—the region that supplies at least one fifth of the total annual U.S. agricultural harvest. If the aquifer goes dry, more than $20 billion worth of food and fiber will vanish from the world’s markets.

What is the immediate fate of the water that is withdrawn for irrigation?

But of the water used for irrigation, only about one-half is reusable. The rest is lost by evaporation into the air, evapotranspiration from plants, or is lost in transit, by a leaking pipe, for example.

What are the advantages and disadvantages of center pivot irrigation?

Using lines saves water but the cost is in the help. And there-in lies the advantage of the process. It is the least expensive of the methods of irrigation. One disadvantage of center pivot irrigation system is that a circular field leaves a lot of unused space.

Is Centre pivot irrigation efficient?

The centre pivot’s estimated application efficiency is 0.90 (90 per cent).

What is the effect of excessive withdrawal of groundwater?

Ground-water depletion is primarily caused by sustained ground-water pumping. Some of the negative effects of ground-water depletion include increased pumping costs, deterioration of water quality, reduction of water in streams and lakes, or land subsidence.

What are the consequences of over withdrawal of groundwater?

When groundwater is overused, the lakes, streams, and rivers connected to groundwater can also have their supply diminished. Land subsidence occurs when there is a loss of support below ground.

What is the main problem with the Ogallala the world’s largest aquifer that is located in the US?

The Ogallala Aquifer is being both depleted and polluted. Irrigation withdraws much groundwater, yet little of it is replaced by recharge. Since large-scale irrigation began in the 1940s, water levels have declined more than 30 meters (100 feet) in parts of Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.

What economic effects might result from the depletion of groundwater supplies from the Ogallala Aquifer?

This is the breadbasket of America—the region that supplies at least one fifth of the total annual U.S. agricultural harvest. If the aquifer goes dry, more than $20 billion worth of food and fiber will vanish from the world’s markets.

How is Kansas State University helping the Ogallala Aquifer?

Working to help conserve the Ogallala Aquifer, Kansas State University’s mobile drip system is retrofitted to existing center pivot irrigation systems, monitored and managed by mobile phone. Irrigating wheat in western Kansas with mobile drip saves 30-60% compared to conventional sprinkler irrigation.

How is Winter Wheat helping the Ogallala Aquifer?

Winter wheat, a critical crop grown for global consumption, is being studied under different irrigation and fertilizer amounts. Results show that farmers may be able to use half the amount of water that they usually need to effectively irrigate their wheat crops. Using less water can help save the Ogallala Aquifer.

Why was the center pivot irrigation so important?

Center pivot technology epitomizes much of what it is to be an American. It was a technological triumph that enabled a production revolution. The people who built it took pride in their achievement: They were American inventors who created something out of almost nothing.

How long will it take to save the Ogallala Aquifer?

Using less water can help save the Ogallala Aquifer. At the current rate of use, part of the Ogallala could be exhausted within this century and may take 6,000 years to restore.