Abstract |
Water resources for arid and semiarid regions of the United States are only marginal at the present time and new sources of water are no longer available. Artificial recharge techniques are presented as one method of partially alleviating the problem. Artificial recharge is presented in the context of the water depletion of the Ogallala formation on the High Plains of Texas. There, as in the United States as a whole, irrigated agriculture is the major water user. Several recharge mechanisms are discussed, such as recharge wells, shafts, holes, pits, trenches, rubble cones, and water spreading. All of the methods share the problem of sediment content in water used for recharge, but the problem is not insurmountable. In some cases economic value of artificially recharged water has already outweighted the limitations. (WRSIC-abstract) |