ABSTRACT
This chapter explores the human response to groundwater depletion due to irrigation in the Kansas High Plains. This is accomplished through an examination of the groundwater depletion problem, institutional response to resource depletion and land-use adjustments associated with significant reductions in groundwater availability. Well-drilling permits are recommended for approval to the Chief Engineer or rejected, depending on how closely the new well will impact on the depletion control goal. Rapid depletion of the Ogallala Aquifer has resulted in several adjustments by resource managers in Western Kansas. Despite growing awareness by State Officials and the farmers themselves of the groundwater depletion problem, it is highly unlikely that irrigation will be abandoned as a resource conserving technique. Acting to gam cooperation and enforcement over the management of groundwater resources, the Kansas State Legislature in 1972 passed the Groundwater Management Districts Act.
