Arkansas

Aquifer depletion faster than thought, study finds Wednesday, Dec 17, 2003

LITTLE ROCK - The shallow underground aquifer that supplies much of the water for agriculture, particularly rice, in eastern Arkansas is drying up faster than previously expected, according to a U.S. Geological Survey released Tuesday.

Some portions of the alluvial aquifer in three counties - Arkansas, Lonoke and Prairie - could be dry by as early as 2009, USGS officials said at a news conference.

Previous projections had sections of the aquifer drying up by 2015.

Other parts of East Arkansas where the underground aquifer could be irreparably harmed if water consumption continues at current rates include Jefferson County and the area between the White River and Crowley's Ridge from Lawrence County north to Phillips County to the south, officials said.

The USGS study was done over several years at a cost of about $1 million. The study is different than previous ones because it developed numerous models of the entire region and determined different scenarios at various rates of water usage.

The study found that the region would have to reduce water consumption by about 40 percent for the aquifer to be self-sustaining, said Todd Fugitt with the state Soil and Water Conservation Commission.

By Rob Moritz Arkansas News Bureau

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