Excerpt
Only a small portion of eastern Arkansas's yearly rainfall of 45 in (114 cm) occurs during the growing season, making irrigation a requisite for economically viable agriculture, which contributes more than $3 billion to the Arkansas economy. In eastern Arkansas, irrigation now covers more than 4 million ac (1.619 × 106 ha), making it the fourth ranking irrigated state in the nation. The primary source of irrigation water is from groundwater wells on individual farm tracts, accounting for 85% of the water use. This rate of groundwater pumping is not sustainable. Large areas of eastern Arkansas are now being designated as critical groundwater zones, with rates of decline averaging more than 1 ft yr-1 (30 cm y-1).
Arkansas rice is entirely irrigated and makes up more than 50% of US production on 1.6 million ac (648,000 ha). Farm gate receipts for all crops in eastern Arkansas exceed $3 billion. On average, irrigation in Arkansas uses 7.5 million ac ft (9.251 × 109 m3) of water yearly, 85% of it from groundwater pumping. Aquifer overdraft is on the order of 20%. More than 1.6 million ac (648,000 ha) of eastern Arkansas land is designated as critical groundwater areas due to overdraft …
Footnotes
Dennis K. Carman is a registered professional engineer with 35 years of experience in water resource related issues. He is currently the chief engineer and director for the White River Irrigation District, Stuttgart, Arkansas, and has previously served for more than 30 years in numerous state and national engineering positions for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.
- © 2008 by the Soil and Water Conservation Society
This article requires a subscription to view the full text. If you have a subscription you may use the login form below to view the article. Access to this article can also be purchased.