LITTLE ROCK -- The Arkansas Natural Resources Commission has projected unsustainable levels of groundwater use in the eastern half of the state.
The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports that the commission's annual groundwater report, which projects increasing groundwater shortages through 2050, gave recommendations for conserving water. Arkansas groundwater accounts for 63 percent of all water consumption in the state, and is also heavily used in the Delta region.
"We're a water-rich state," said Todd Fugitt, geology supervisor for the commission. "But we do have some issues to deal with."
The state uses more than 8.3 billion gallons of groundwater per day from aquifers, which is the highest total in the United States after California. According to the report, about 80 percent of eastern Arkansas will not be able to irrigate in 40 years.
The highest groundwater withdrawals are in Poinsett, Cross, Jackson, Arkansas and Clay counties.
"If conservation and the development of excess surface water are not successfully implemented in the impaired areas in the very near future," the Natural Resources Commission report says, "the state will have to consider regulatory alternatives to preserve the aquifers at a sustainable level."
Some agricultural groups have disputed the groundwater projections. The commission is working with those groups to install meters to get better measurements of groundwater levels.
The commission used 2012 data from the U.S. Geological Survey for their annual report.
Gov. Asa Hutchinson is currently reviewing the state's $4 million water plan which calls for storing excess surface water, evaluating the effectiveness of existing tax credits and incentives for irrigation water conservation, measuring groundwater levels in certain wells and a re-evaluating the limit on water use for homes or businesses that are not located along bodies of water.
State Desk on 03/24/2015