By Emily Boragine – K-State News and Communication Services
Kansas State University researchers are taking a closer look at how groundwater quality could shape the future of agriculture in south-central Kansas.
The research focuses on the Equus Beds aquifer near Wichita, a key water source for communities, industry and irrigated agriculture. In areas near Burrton, a chloride plume has raised concerns about how water quality may affect long-term use and decision-making for producers.
Micah Cameron-Harp, assistant professor of agricultural economics, is studying how elevated chloride levels could influence irrigation practices, crop choices and farm profitability in Groundwater Management District No. 2 near Burrton.
Understanding the plume and what’s in the water
Cameron-Harp’s research draws on plume modeling developed by Burns & McDonnell Engineering Company for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment and pairs it with agricultural water-use data to examine potential impacts on irrigation and production. A chloride plume is a spreading body of groundwater containing high concentrations of dissolved chloride.
“In research contexts like this one, it’s essential to understand both the biophysical and behavioral components of the system,” Cameron-Harp said. “Burns & McDonnell provided crucial information on the current spatial extent of the plume. Without that data, we wouldn’t have known which wells to examine.”
Chloride is a naturally occurring ion that serves as the plant-available form of chlorine, one of 16 essential micronutrients for plant growth. In addition to its functions in photosynthesis and as an osmotic regulator, there is also evidence that chloride helps suppress a variety of wheat pathogens present in Kansas.
In parts of the plume, however, levels exceed those typically recommended for crop production, raising questions about how irrigation water quality may affect yields over time.
The effects are not uniform, and it is often up to producers to decide how they will respond. Producers may adjust crop rotations, shift irrigation practices or change how much water they apply depending on conditions. Cameron-Harp draws on crop budgets from AgManager.info to illustrate how even a small adjustment in irrigation practices to manage salinity can shift a field from modest profit to a loss.
The work also points to a gap in understanding how the plume is moving. More detailed hydrologic modeling would enable better estimates of long-term impacts and provide producers and water managers with clearer information to plan ahead.
Movement, management and economic risk
Cameron-Harp’s principal recommendation is to devote resources toward understanding the movement of the chloride plume over time so that a rigorous approach to generating causal estimates is possible.
“Ideally, we’d like to examine irrigation before and after the plume affected a well and compare any changes to other irrigators outside affected areas during the same period,” he said. “That would provide a robust estimate of the true impact of the plume on production in the region.”
If the plume prompts producers to alter cropping decisions or irrigation intensity, the economic ramifications for wells in areas where it is migrating could be significant.
According to Cameron-Harp, around 15% of harvested acres are irrigated, but they account for roughly 30% of crop value.
“The value of irrigation is clear when we look at land prices — irrigation adds a premium of around $1,450 per acre,” he said. “Anything that jeopardizes water resources and the ability to grow more water-intensive crops with less risk is critically important for producers to understand.”
K-State as a central hub for water research
The effort reflects collaboration among university researchers, industry partners and public agencies working to support Kansas agriculture and protect critical water resources.
Across the university, researchers are working to address the larger concerns about water safety and accessibility. Jeeban Panthi, assistant professor in the geology department, plans to study the area near the Equus Beds aquifer from a hydrological perspective.
Using high-resolution, cutting-edge geophysical techniques, Panthi and his team plan to enhance existing groundwater models to produce more accurate, precise spatial and temporal plume predictions.
Cameron-Harp said the understanding gained from Panthi’s proposed research would be a great help to his efforts going forward
The water quality lab, part of the Kansas Water Institute, serves as a central hub for water quality testing in the region, supporting research and decision-making through advanced instrumentation and trained scientists.
“This work demonstrates K-State’s capability to tackle both the biophysical and behavioral components of ‘wicked’ problems like the water challenges our state faces,” Cameron-Harp said. “With resources like the new water quality lab, ongoing hydrologic modeling and collaboration across disciplines, we’re gaining a clearer picture of how water systems change and what that means for producers.”
