Artificial ground-water recharge as a water- management technique on the southern high plains of Texas and New Mexico.

Two methods of artificial groundwater recharge in the Ogallala Formation aquifer in the southern high plains of Texas and New Mexico are described: 1) water spreading basins, and 2) injection wells. Both systems use water collected in the thousands of playa lakes in the region; this water normally evaporates rapidly (about 12.7 mm/day in summer). Little water moves downward from the playas due to clay-sealed central basins. The Ogallala aquifer receives less than two mm water/year under present climatic conditions, but an average of 305 mm are withdrawn annually. Most irrigated farms in the central and southern parts of the southern high plains will become dryland farms before the year 2000 at the current rate of water use. Field tests and laboratory research indicate that spreading basins are the most economical approach to recharge in most areas, but where surficial materials have low vertical permeability, injection wells offer a viable alternative. - from Selected Water Resources Abstracts