Groundwater

Drone view of field

BGMA Webinars Highlight Soil Management Strategies, Groundwater Hydrology Research

February 4, 2021
The Bazile Groundwater Management Area webinars will focus on soil quality management, as well as highlight research efforts on nitrate in the Bazile creek.

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summary map of Nebraska groundwater levels.
Pockets of southwestern Nebraska and the Panhandle saw minor groundwater level declines, but the latest Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report shows a wealth of increases in groundwater supply across the rest of the state from spring 2018 to spring 2019. On average, wells measured in spring 2019 saw a 2.63-foot increase in groundwater levels statewide.

Nebraska Groundwater Levels Rise Following Wet Year

April 22, 2020
Groundwater levels across much of Nebraska continue to rebound from the historic 2012 drought, according to the 2019 Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report.

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NET Awards Grant for Bazile GMA Nitrate Reduction Efforts

June 3, 2019

The Nebraska Environmental Trust awarded $228,500 to the Bazile Groundwater Management Area (BGMA) for research and developing demonstration sites in the BGMA groundwater nitrate reduction project.

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Illustration of groundwater nitrate variability in Nebraska

Tackling Nitrates in Groundwater

May 9, 2019
Why does groundwater nitrate vary so much across Nebraska and what has research found about how manure reduces nitrate losses to water. These topics are among recent articles featured here and on Nebraska Extension's Water.unl.edu.

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Two maps showing groundwater level changes in Nebraska
Figure 1. Two maps showing groundwater level changes in Nebraska from Spring 2017-Spring 2018 and from Spring 2013 (after the 2012 drought) to Spring 2018 (Source: 2018 Nebraska Groundwatr-Level Monitoring Report, UNL Conservation and Survey Division)

Groundwater Levels Recovering from 2012 Drought

March 28, 2019
Nebraska groundwater levels generally continued to rise in the areas most affected by the 2012 drought, although there were exceptions, according to the 2018 Nebraska Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report.

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Nebraska Water Center Receives Grant to Research Nitrate Mitigation

June 19, 2018
This project will demonstrate how subsoil injection of an abundant carbon source (recycled sawdust and wood shavings) will establish a biologically active layer for interception and removal of dissolved nitrate after it has left the crop root zone.

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Figure 1. The Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report shows groundwater-level changes in Nebraska from spring 2016 to spring 2017.
Figure 1. The Nebraska Statewide Groundwater-Level Monitoring Report shows groundwater-level changes in Nebraska from spring 2016 to spring 2017.

Nebraska Continues To See Modest Groundwater Decline

March 15, 2018
Based on tests in 5,200 water wells across the state, Nebraska has seen a modest decline in groundwater levels in the last five years. A new university report tracks well levels in 1-year, 5-year, 10-year, and pre-irrigation increments to identify trends.

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