USDA invests $6.5 million to conserve water in Ogallala Aquifer

Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is investing $6.5 million in the Ogallala Aquifer region this year to help farmers and ranchers conserve billions of gallons of water and improve water quality. Funding will be targeted to seven focus areas to support their primary water source and strengthen rural economies.  “This funding assists conservationists and agricultural producers in planning and implementing conservation practices that conserve water and improve water quality,” said Vilsack. “This work not only expands the viability of the Ogallala Aquifer but also helps producers across the Great Plains strengthen their agricultural operations.” Underlying the Great Plains in eight states, the Ogallala supports nearly one-fifth of the wheat, corn, cotton and cattle produced in the United States. It has long been the main water supply for the High Plains’ population and is being depleted at an unsustainable rate. The reservoir was created more than a million years ago through geologic action and covers about 174,000 square miles; mainly in Nebraska, Kansas, Oklahoma, and Texas (also known as the High Plains). The aquifer also covers part of South Dakota, Wyoming, Colorado, and New Mexico...more

A classic case of public ownership of a resource.  Call it Tragedy of the Commons or whatever, it always results in waste, inefficiency and damage to the resource. It didn't work for the Pilgrims at Plymouth Colony and its not working in the Ogallala.