Ogallala Suffers In Western Kansas in 2011

Kansas City Star (via Big Picture Agriculture):

The lack of rainfall in Kansas in 2011 led to intense declines in ground water levels around the state, according to the Kansas Geological Survey.
The Ogallala Aquifer in southwest Kansas usually sees annual declines, but its drop in 2011 was one of the worst in decades. The Kansas Geological Survey said the aquifer in that region dropped an average of 3.78 feet in 2011. That’s compared to a drop of about 3 feet in 2010 and 1.39 feet in 2009.
The drought that plagued the state last year was the worst in generations. Much of Kansas received 25 to 50 percent of normal precipitation last year, with rain shutting off in the fall of 2010.
“The growing season was probably the worst since the 1930s,” said Brownie Wilson, water data manager for the geological survey. “It was just awful.”
In central and south-central Kansas, where ground water levels usually show gains or only modest declines, the water table in the Equus Beds aquifer decreased an average of 3.17 feet. The Equus Beds stretch northwest from Wichita to include McPherson and Hutchinson.

That may not seem like much to folks in Kansas, but that is a big deal.  The Ogallala isn't sustainable at withdrawal rates like that.