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.

A study design was approved by the High Plains Council in 1977 and a general contractor, the consulting firm of Camp, Dresser, and McKee, Inc., was selected in September 1978. The general contractor managed the study for the federal government and the Council and each state performed part of the work. In Texas, this primarily included the Texas Water Development Board and its successor, the Texas Department of Water Resources. The Texas Water Development Board was established in 1957 and its responsibilities have included administering state and federal financing programs for water-related projects and long-term water resources planning with associated data collecting and studies on water resources of the state. Under a 1965 reorganization, the Water Development Board assumed certain technical and planning functions formerly vested in the former Texas Water Commission and the Board of Water Engineers. In 1977, just after the High Plains Ogallala Aquifer Study had begun, the Water Development Board was consolidated into the new Department of Water Resources. The records and activities of the study were also transferred to the Department of Water Resources and the Texas portions of the study were conducted and finished under that agency's direction.

Planning funds for performing research analyses for the Texas portion of the High Plains Ogallala Aquifer Area Study were under contract between the general contractor and the Texas Department of Water Resources. Research elements included farm level research, energy production impacts, state and regional impacts, and water resources evaluation. In water resources evaluation, the Texas Department of Water Resources worked closely with the United States Geological Service (USGS) and the general contractor, describing the geologic structure, hydrology, and the groundwater and aquifer characteristics of the Ogallala and peripheral aquifers. Data collected included information on precipitation, streamflow, recharge, natural discharge, movement of groundwater, and water quality. Studies and estimates were made of the depths to water, thickness of the aquifer, well yields, and quantities of water in storage in each county of the Texas High Plains area. For data prior to 1976, the Department of Water Resources used water availability studies done by the Texas Board of Water Engineers, the Texas Water Commission, and the Texas Water Development Board. This data, along with projections of future water use, was used as input into analyses of the project. The Department of Water Resources also subcontracted with the general contractor to provide administrative support to the High Plains Study Council Liaison Committee.

The High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer Area Study was completed in March 1982. Recommendations were made to Congress and the Secretary of Commerce in January 1984.

From the guide to the High Plains-Ogallala Aquifer Area Study records, 1955-1983, (Repository Unknown)