As groundwater levels in western Kansas continue to decline, the Kansas Geological Survey’s upcoming annual measurement will help determine exactly how much water is being lost.

The Kansas Geological Survey, based at Kansas University, plans to measure groundwater levels in 569 wells Jan. 2 through Jan. 6 across 15 western Kansas counties, according to a news release from KU.

Results of measurements made in January 2015 will be posted online in late February. 

Combined with wells measured by the Kansas Department of Agriculture’s Division of Water Resources, a total of 1,415 wells in 48 western and central Kansas counties are expected to be measured.

The annual data collected by both agencies show that groundwater levels have dropped most substantially in the portions of the High Plains aquifer with the lowest precipitation and the greatest rise in water usage, especially for irrigation, over the past 60 years, according to KU. January 2013 measurements showed that groundwater levels on the whole rose in south-central Kansas while levels in western Kansas continued to decline, although less sharply than in the previous year.

“In 2014, the growing season in March to May started off very dry with June being extremely wet and, in places, so were July and August,” Brownie Wilson, KGS water-data manager, said in the news release. “It wasn’t a drought buster by any means, but the quantity and timeliness of the precipitation was probably good enough to reduce groundwater declines this year in comparison to recent years.”

Going into December, most of western Kansas was classified as being in moderate to severe drought, and the counties running along the Kansas-Oklahoma border are in the “extreme drought” category, Wilson said.

Wells are measured in December, January and February to avoid short-term declines caused by pumping for irrigation during the growing season.

The High Plains aquifer is a massive network of underground water-bearing rocks that is the primary source of irrigation, municipal and industrial water for much of western and central Kansas. It includes the extensive Ogallala aquifer, the ongoing depletion of which threatens agriculture and related businesses, manufacturing, recreation and the livelihood of towns, state officials have warned.