![]() The difference between the initial water level, or static water level, and the pumping water level causes water to move within the aquifer. Removing water from the aquifer can lower the water level in the well. Pumps use mechanical energy supplied by an electric drive motor or fuel-powered engine to force water up toward the land surface. Water is removed from an aquifer by drilling wells and using pumps. Perched aquifers may provide limited water well yield, particularly during drought. ![]() In addition, there are perched aquifers consisting of isolated mounds of groundwater above a layer of clay or silt. These areas are extremely variable, and it is difficult to predict water yields and water quality from them. Glacial till, locally known as boulder clay, or rock flour, covers most of the eastern region and is underlain by the Dakota Formation aquifer. Northeast and southeast Nebraska are in glacial drift areas. Groundwater in eastern Nebraska is not part of that aquifer system. Large yields of good quality water can usually be obtained from the High Plains aquifer, which includes the Ogallala, Brule, Arikaree, and alluvial aquifers. The majority of the groundwater found in Nebraska is in the High Plains aquifer system, which extends from south central South Dakota through central and western Nebraska, to Texas. However, there are areas where the groundwater supply is limited and the quality is not desirable for consumption. Nebraska has large aquifers and a vast supply of excellent quality groundwater. These materials form what is called the groundwater aquifer. Groundwater is stored in the spaces and cracks between particles of soil, sand, gravel, rock, or other material ( Figure 1). Groundwater in Nebraska does not reside in, and is not stored in, large underground lakes or rivers. To make informed management decisions, it is important to first have an understanding of the water source, the well and distribution system, and water needs. This has been true in areas of heavy groundwater use, such as agricultural irrigation, during dry years.Įfficient water use is especially important during periods of drought, when groundwater levels can decline. However, groundwater resources are not limitless, and groundwater levels can decline when use exceeds recharge. Groundwater is a renewable resource, replenished mostly by precipitation and water flowing through the aquifer. Nebraska’s groundwater comes from aquifers, natural underground layers of sand and gravel that contain water. Nearly all of Nebraska’s rural residents rely on groundwater for household water use.
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