Ogallala

The water crisis in Kansas is getting worse and there's no end in sight. Water quantity and water quality are ongoing concerns in the Sunflower State. And the answers to both problems come with expensive price tags.

Has springtime given you a case of wanderlust? Commentator Rex Buchanan says U.S. Highway 83, which runs north and south through the western third of Kansas, is well worth a weekend trip.

The number one issue affecting all things in western Kansas is water. University of Kansas Journalism Professor David Guth travelled the region, conducting interviews for an upcoming book about issues affecting rural communities. In this report, Guth says there’s agreement on the need to conserve water… but almost no agreement on how to do that. (This report is part 1 in a series titled, “Amber Waves of Change,” where we hear about issues affecting the rural Midwest.)

The U.S. Geological Survey says a large decline in groundwater levels took place between 2011 and 2013