Groundwater availability of the Northern High Plains aquifer in Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wyoming

Abstract

Although often overlooked, groundwater is increasingly important to all our lives. Groundwater is the Nation's principal reserve of freshwater. It provides drinking water for half of the country, is essential to food production in the United States, and facilitates business and industrial activities. Groundwater also is an important source of water for sustaining the ecosystem health of rivers, wetlands, and estuaries throughout the country.