Aquifer loss is a generational test of Kansas values and obligations | Commentary

Kansas is facing a groundwater crisis. The problems are painfully obvious in southwestern Kansas, where much of the Ogallala Aquifer is in steep and well-documented decline. I grew up on those lands, and my family farmed and ranched there for generations. Like most farmers, they worked hard. Some years they prospered, others they did not. Groundwater helped them survive. Now, southwest Kansas has one of the highest rates of aquifer loss in the world. Parts of the aquifer are running out. Once they are gone, they will not return.

The stakes could not be higher for the people whose economies, tax bases, schools, hospitals and communities are tied to irrigated agriculture. Many folks would like to save some of this vital resource for future generations — to give our children the same opportunities our parents gave us. But they soon discover they have no voice in the decisions being made about the aquifer.

One big obstacle is how groundwater is governed. In the 1970s, the state set up several Groundwater Management Districts to allow local communities in regions of heavy water use to decide their own futures. It was a good idea in principle. In practice, it caused the opposite results.

Today, participation in GMDs is confined to those who own at least 40 acres of land or substantial water rights. The only people allowed to vote on the future of the aquifer include the same producers and corporations that reap the most short-term benefits from draining it. Many landowners are absentee or out-of-state, and most profit from aquifer depletion does not end up in rural communities.

Water governance is reserved for a privileged few who are allowed to determine the fate of many. This violates the reason for the GMD policy in the first place. It excludes the vast majority of rural Kansans from deciding the long-term future of their families and communities. And it most hurts those already struggling to make ends meet. This goes against Kansas values of justice, freedom, decency and local democracy.

What can we do? Several steps can be taken now to slow aquifer depletion. The state could intervene, the GMDs could take action or producers could organize themselves to create Local Enhanced Management Areas, modeled on the success story in northwest Kansas. Responsible businesses and banks could incentivize sustainability. Regardless, one crucial and commonsense step is to allow citizens to have a say in the decisions that will determine their future.

Water governance should be open, transparent and accountable to all. The issue is much bigger than partisan politics or the slogans used to divide us. Beware those who try to tell you otherwise. The bedrock truth is that we are all in this together. Because the fate of the aquifer affects us all, it should be decided collectively. Most of all, the aquifer belongs to the generations of Kansans to come. We should not give it up without a fight.

At a time of deep division, it is easy to lose sight of common ground. Aquifer loss is a generational test of our values and obligations to each other. We may not be responsible for the problems we inherited, but we are responsible for the future we are creating.

Lucas Bessire studied at K-State and is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Oklahoma. He discusses western Kansas aquifer depletion in his new book, “Running Out: In Search of Water on the High Plains,” published by Princeton University Press.