An Oregon State University model shows that sustainable rates of groundwater withdrawal in Oregon鈥檚 Harney Basin were surpassed 20 years prior to the time that declining groundwater levels were generally recognized.
That lag in realizing the irreversible impact of groundwater use is just one insight from a new study that links farm economics and groundwater hydrology in the Harney Basin.
Oregon State University economists and a U.S. Geological Survey hydrologist developed the model of interactions and feedback between farm irrigation decisions and groundwater levels to better understand the causes and potential solutions to the decline in groundwater.
Joining the Exchange to shed more light on the issue is , a professor at Oregon State in the Department of Applied Economics.
Groundwater levels have been declining globally, , and in parts of Oregon, leading to decreases in river and stream base flows, less water in wetlands, wells running dry and in some cases land subsidence.
