This atlas has been prepared by the Kansas Geological Survey with the initial components developed under a contract with the Kansas Water Office for a High Plains Aquifer Evaluation study.  The present version (2.0) is a component of the final contract report to KWO. The sections listed below include the contents of Kansas Geological Survey Educational Series 14.

Additional products of the Kansas Water Office contract include sections on statewide water resource issues that extend beyond the High Plains aquifer: information on surface water reliability and quality and on the aquifers of eastern Kansas are accessible through the Other Kansas Water Resources section at the bottom of this page.  The html version of the Atlas is presented here; it is also available in Microsoft Word document format, which is included as part of this OFR.

Version 2.0 of the report contains some content additions and organizational changes from version 1.0.  Some material originally reported in draft from in sections B and C of the OFR has been finalized and included in the Atlas (A) section.

While every effort has been made to ensure that the atlas is accurate and informative, it is not appropriate for use in local, detailed, or highly quantitative analyses.  It does not have official or regulatory status, and should not be used in place of maps that have been subject to technical review and/or official adoption.

An e-mail link is provided at the bottom of each section for comments.  Please specify the page and subject clearly when you submit comments.
 

Atlas Sections (Authors and contributors are listed in each section)
Executive Summary
Introduction
Surface Water in Kansas and its Interactions with Ground Water
Aquifers of the High Plains Region
Predevelopment Saturated Thickness
Current Saturated Thickness
Change in Saturated Thickness
Water in Storage
Groundwater Availability and Accessibility  Provinces
Regional Groundwater Quality Provinces
Estimated Annual Groundwater Recharge
Current Maximum Authorized Use
Water Usage
Kansas Irrigation Systems and Cropping Trends
Percent of Authorized Quantity Used
Estimated Usable Lifetime
Changes in Use Necessary for Sustainability
Supplementary and Technical Appendices
Aquifer Types and Terminology
Bedrock Data Sources and Data Processing Methods
Saturated Thickness -- Concepts and Measurement
Groundwater Storage and Flow
Water Table Drawdown and Well Pumping
Estimated History of Decline in Saturated Thickness
Glossary

 

Other Kansas Water Resources

In-Stream Water Resources and Historic Achievement of Minimum Desirable Streamflows (MDS)

Preliminary Analysis of Potential Groundwater Supplies