By ROD ZOOK
Hutch Post
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The level of the Equus Beds aquifer fell system-wide in 2020. That’s according to the numbers from the Groundwater Management District in Halstead.
“It looks like we’re down about two feet on average across the district,” General Manager Tim Boese said. “Of course that varies from maybe some slight rises to larger declines of three or four feet.”
Boese says the drop could have been caused by a dry growing season and the lack of rain in the fall months.
“I think it was dry, particularly during the growing season . . . I think the irrigation use was probably going to be up some,” Boese said. “We really didn’t get the timely rainfalls when we needed them.”
Still, the fall off is not alarming to Boese, who says that, in most areas, the rise and fall of the aquifer has been cyclical. He gave an example of a well they test regularly.
“This particular well, we do measure it and it was down about three and a half to four feet,” Boese said. “But long term, going back to 1957, it’s within a couple of feet of where it started in 1957.”
Boese says, unless things get really dry, he doesn’t foresee any water or well problems for farmers or rural residents.
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