Water

 

The Challenge

Agriculture is responsible for 70 percent of fresh water consumption. Rural areas are particularly sensitive to the increasing demands on our nation's water supply.

Aquifers like the Ogalalla have seen severe water declines and will never reach their previous levels again. Many places also lack good quality water. 

Our Approach

The Water Resource Center and other faculty are looking for solutions in several ways, including:

• Finding new sources of water and managing ground water for agriculture;
• Looking at the water quality of deeper aquifers, like the one under the Ogalalla, and determining the best ways to extract, treat, and use that water;
• Developing treatment technologies that desalinate brackish water; and
• Developing technologies that remove contaminants and provide good quality drinking water to rural communities.