REVERSE OSMOSISMeeting: 11 – 13 - 12

The Ogallala Aquifer

• Located beneath the Great Plains• Covers 174,000 square miles• Wichita uses the portion called the Equus Bed. • 27% of irrigated land is on top of this aquifer• 30% of all United States water for irrigation

comes from this• Provides drinking water to 82% of people

within the boundaries

The water is divided like so

• Irrigation – 50%• Cities – 24% • Industrial Use – 13% – (Spirit falls in this category)

• Recreational/Other – 3% – (We aren’t really sure what goes in this category.)– Swimming pools maybe?

• 10% is pulled away by the river systems

The Aquifer Storage and Recovery Project

• A complicated system to help replenish the aquifer

• $550 million dollar cost• The year it was finished, Wichita had an

above-average amount of rain and the system wasn’t used properly– Wichita was paying for nothing, basically.

• Phase I is the only phase completed so far.

Kansas vs. Colorado

• Going on since 1902• Fighting over rights to the water in the

Arkansas river– It’s illegal in Colorado to own a rain barrel. This

water is supposed to go to the river.• Last issue was in 2009

Purposes of the Exhibit

• Demonstrate that we are using more water than can be naturally replenished to the aquifer.

• We want to show how to use less water from the environment– The aquifer–Rain water–Cheney Reservior

Cont’d.

• Show how re-using grey water (un-potable) will benefit the economy and city

• Focus on water re-use– Show possible solutions to slowing or

stopping aquifer depletion• For example, using not drinkable water

for industrial use instead of drinking water.

Cont’d Again

• We need to convince the city of Wichita that this is a good thing–As opposed to the city making less money

because less water is being purchased.–We need to be sure to not make the city of

Wichita look like bad guys.• Stephen thinks we should not change the

original RO project too much, just give it a “facelift”.