Texas. Dept. of Water Resources.

The problem of a decreasing water supply from the Ogallala Aquifer for irrigation on the High Plains was addressed by the U.S. Congress in Section 193, Public Law 94-587 in 1976. In order to promote the economic vitality of the High Plains Region, Congress directed the Secretary of Commerce to study the depletion of the natural resources of those regions...presently utilizing the declining water resources of the Ogallala aquifer, and to develop plans, to increase water supplies in the area and...to examine the feasibility of various alternatives to provide adequate water supplies to the area. The study area was defined as those regions of Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska presently utilizing the Ogallala Aquifer and the surrounding regions which may be affected economically or hydrologically.

In October 1976, Congress authorized the study at a funding level of $6 million. The six states, with the Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration (EDA), formed the High Plains Study Council in November 1976. The purpose of the Council was to determine potential development alternatives for the High Plains; to describe the policies and actions required to carry out promising development strategies; and to evaluate the local, state and national implications of these alternative development strategies. The membership of the council was composed of a representative from the federal government and three members from each state in the study area. From Texas, the representatives were the executive director of the Texas Water Development Board, the chairman of the Water Development Board, and a member of the House of Representatives. Other participants in the study would include the general contractor, state advisory groups, and an advisory group composed of environmental, energy, and regulatory state and federal agencies.

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