THE OGALLALA AQUIFER

The Ogallala Aquifer is the largest aquifer in North America, extending beneath 174,000 square miles across eight states with more than three billion acre-feet of water.

Beneath the four-county area of Roberts, Hemphill, Lipscomb and Ochiltree, there are approximately 81 million acre-feet of high-quality, terrorist-resistant drought-proof water, with annual recharge estimated at 80,000 acre-feet. Only a very small percentage is used for irrigation because the topography of rolling hills, mesas and canyons is unsuitable for farming. Of 2.5 million acres in these counties, only 4% (about 100,000 acres) is irrigated.

Most of this water can be described as “surplus” because it’s not needed in the Panhandle, either for agriculture or municipal use.

It is also “stranded” because without production facilities and a delivery infrastructure to other parts of the state there is no market for it.

The only possible market for this water is selling it to areas of the state that need it most, consistent with Texas legislative policy set with Senate Bill One.