Most Colorado cities and farms get water from snow melt in the Rockies. Not in Northeastern Colorado. This food producing powerhouse depends on an ancient, underground reservoir called the Ogallala. Ever since the Ice Ages, the Ogallala’s been slowly accumulating water. But modern farmers pump so much, that this “timeless” aquifer is starting to run out. Someday up ahead, Northeast Colorado may have to curtail some crops, and some farm towns might be ghost towns. Shelley Schlender reports as part of our yearlong series Connecting the Drops, in collaboration with the Colorado Foundation for Water Education.
Images: Connecting The Drops
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- Center-pivot sprinkler taps the Ogallala to irrigate what would otherwise be dry land
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- A fall potato harvest near Wray.
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- Weaning cattle in a feedlot near Wray
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- A conveyor belt loads potatoes, grown with Ogallala water.
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- Country Road Near Wray
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- Pipe with Flowmeter
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- Wellhouse
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- Tim Pautler farms on the Ogallala’s edge, using dryland farming techniques.
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- Deb Daniel of the Republican River Water Conservation District leads efforts to sustain the Ogallala.
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- Fall Irrigation Near Wray