Groundwater "Water is starting to become an issue" in Harper County, Kansas, where groundwater reserves are running dry (Vaidyanathan and Gilmer, 2012). Low rates of precipitation, coupled with diversion of groundwater to the oil industry, are threatening to diminish available water used for farming and domestic use. Therefore, it is important to understand the nature of groundwater in Harper County, Kansas and the flow rate of pumps in order to prepare for the future.

Harper County is in south-central Kansas, and abuts Oklahoma. The county "lies partly in the Wellington Lowland minor division of the Arkansas River Lowland section of the Central Lowland province and partly in the Red Hills minor division of the Dissected High Plains section of the Great Plains province," (Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin, 1960). More recent geological surveys divide Harper County into six main areas: the Upland area, the Bluff Creek area (with Pleistocene deposits), the Big Sandy Creek area, the East Sand Creek area, the Chikaskia River area, and the Permian area (with the Permian rocks) (Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin, 2009). Both the local wheat farming industry and the oil industry depend on a healthy supply of groundwater, which is also critical for standard consumer use.

The regional geology and climate have a strong impact on the groundwater supply in Harper County. Alluvial deposits impact the quality and content of the ground water, and may also affect its behavior. "Between the western edge of Harper County and the northwestern corner of Blaine County, alluvial deposits are mainly on the north side of the river and consist of sand and basal gravel with some clay and silt," (United States Geological Survey, n.d.). The sediments also indicate the direction of flow, and can impact the shape of the water table plane. Moreover, the United States Geological Survey (n.d) points out, "the water table in the alluvial deposits between western Harper County and northwestern Blaine County ranges...

The general direction of ground-water flow is toward the North Canadian River." In the Upland area, the water moves south-southeast (Kansas Geological Survey, 2009). The slope of the groundwater table changes throughout Harper County, Kansas and its six main geological regions. Similar usage issues plague the entire county. Generally, the silt, sand, and gravel deposits from rock outcroppings and Permian rocks cause Harper County groundwater to be hard but still useful for most purposes. Water diversion from personal household use and farming is creating serious drought conditions in many parts of the country and especially in Kansas.
Groundwater in Harper County, Kansas is generally replenished via rain, snow, "percolation from streams and depressions, and by underflow from adjacent areas," (Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin, 1960). In the Upland and Chikaskia regions, some ground water is recharged via subsurface inflow (Kansas Geological Survey, 2009). However, the bulk of Harper County's groundwater comes from precipitation that percolates downward into the soil and porous bedrock to reach the water table (Kansas Geological Survey, 2009). Precipitation levels have been relatively low lately, leading to usage restrictions on groundwater access in Harper County (Vaidyanathan and Gilmer, 2012). Replenishing groundwater supplies can take years, and often decades. The following table illustrates the process and timescale of water table replenishment. As the table reveals, the water table can take millennia to recharge (Kansas Geological Survey, 2005).

(Table from Kansas Geological Survey, 2005).

The ground water in Harper County, Kansas occurs both in artesian wells and water-table aquifers (Kansas Geological Survey, 2009). Outflow and pumping of groundwater has increased significantly over the past several decades, primarily due to hydraulic fracturing (fracking). Fracking has become a significantly lucrative supplement to…