Is the High Plains Aquifer being Conserved Domestically? A Study of Water Usage among Kansans

• In Event: 046 - Section on Environment and Technology Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Table 08. Water Use and Governance

Abstract

This dissertation examines water conservation and reliance on well water among Kansans. I survey and interview domestic well users, those who rely on municipal water sources, and those who have access to both domestic wells and municipal water across the state. Well users whose wells draw from the Ogallala, Great Bend Prairie, and Equus Beds Aquifers are a primary focus of this study. My central research questions are: (1) Do constructs of water conservation differ between well users and non-well users?; (2) How is domestic water usage contributing to groundwater depletion in Kansas?; (3) What can survey research reveal about the demographics of well users?; and (4) What are the most accurate ways to model domestic water conservation? This study is important because it will measure if well users view and consume water differently from non-well users. Well users also constitute a subpopulation that has not been well-studied in the social sciences, and this project offers a sense of their demographics, behaviors, and attitudes. My dissertation’s significance also lies in its emphasis on how domestic wells are being used. Specifically, surveying domestic well owners whose wells draw water from the High Plains Aquifer will provide researchers and policymakers a more accurate sense of the Aquifer’s decline. Research on the depletion of the High Plains Aquifer is mainly focused on irrigation withdrawals, but domestic water usage will be an increasingly important variable when researching the future of groundwater availability across the state.

Author

• Brock Ternes, University of Kansas