connections!

Talked to a geologist and hydrologist on the phone tonight for 3 hours!  Found out some very very interesting details.  As you can see in my pictures, Lake Meredith (the man made lake north of Amarillo) is currently 23 feet deep.  In 1980 the lake was over 100 feet deep and supplied water to the whole northern region (including Amarillo).  Now, the water is so low that the aqueduct is unable to transfer water out of lake Meredith and the government has supplemented groundwater to take its place.  The entire north part of Texas is being supplied by 99% of aquifer water (mostly the Ogallala).  The geologist I spoke to believes that Lake Meredith began to dry when the government subsidized CRP ground (paying farmers to put grass in their fields) which created less water run-off.  Also the expansion of the region has created more water use.  The individual regions are cutting off water supply to farmers who have used the aquifer freely for their entire lives.  The law has changed so that the property owner does not own that water on their land.  I am so excited about everything that I have learned from them and I am going to meet with a Hydrologist and Environmental Analyst for Xcel Energy.  He is going to take me around the area and show me geological sites significant to the aquifer.