Nebraska is underlain by the High Plains aquifer system, which includes the largest share of the Ogallala Aquifer. It is traversed by the Platte River, fed in the spring by precipitation and snowmelt from the Rocky Mountains and late summer by irrigation return flow and ground water seepage delivered by numerous canals and tributaries along its path. Thousands of irrigation wells pump groundwater to the surface during the summer and draw on the same reservoir used for drinking water.

Because of the complex relationships between surface and ground water flow, it can be very difficult to accurately model and describe water movement across this landscape. Hydrologists work to understand and predict water flow using computer models so that this resource can be better managed for everyone who uses it.

In SNR, hydrologists have studied:

• hydrologic connections between streams, aquifer and the vegetation that grows along its banks
• impact of irrigation on stream flow depletion
• groundwater flow in Sandhills and eastern Nebraska wetlands
• groundwater-surface water interaction in the Republican and Platte River Basins