Interdisciplinary team of K-State researchers creating tools to show how decisions about Ogallala Aquifer affect people, local economies and more
When water use policies and practices change, they produce a ripple effect in communities, impacting everything from what types of crops a farmer will grow to how many people will move in or out of a town.
That’s why Kansas State University is pooling experts from multiple disciplines to understand how these changes affect people in communities that depend on the Ogallala Aquifer in western Kansas.
David Steward, associate professor of civil engineering, is leading the team of K-State experts in fields as diverse as agronomy, computer science and sociology. Using a $1.5 million grant from the National Science Foundation, the team is developing a scientific understanding of how changes in policy and water use practices could sustain the aquifer without jeopardizing the viability of the Kansas towns and people depending on it as an abundant source of water.
The interdisciplinary team is creating tools that can predict the consequences that water policy decisions would have on all aspects of a community, from the viability of the local economy to land use practices. These tools will help policymakers understand the how their decisions about the Ogallala Aquifer could play out for people living in communities that depend on the water source.
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