Between the K-State Geology team finding local groundwater high in Nitrates, the EPA clean-up of the old Plating Inc. site, the ongoing drought, the depleting aquifer, the pipeline spill into the creek feeding Quivira NWR and the battles over water rights for the wildlife areas, blue-green algae in local lakes, and rising municipal water costs, the picture painted in front of us is not pleasant. One starts to wonder when the Golden Belt will wake up and begin protecting our most precious and important resource. 

If we don’t start taking these issues seriously and attacking them head-on, it will leave us completely scrambling to repair the damage, if it’s even possible to fix. 

Studies have shown that nitrate levels have risen sharply in the Great Bend Aquifer over the past 40 years. Our drinking water is pumped from the Great Bend Aquifer.

The Golden Belt area has a water table that is very shallow, so contaminates quickly leach into the groundwater. What doesn’t leach down collects in our wetlands and lakes, water evaporates and chemicals are left behind concentrated. From excess fertilizer from yards and cropland, dog poop and livestock waste, to pesticides and herbicides, whatever we put on the land goes into our drinking water. 

More than 90 private wells in the Golden Belt area were sampled by K-State geology and Barton Community College students. Nearly half of the wells tested exceeded the nitrate limit for safe human consumption, some as high as 300%. High nitrate levels in drinking water can cause human and livestock health issues by interfering with transport of oxygen by blood and possibly causing a higher risk of cancer.

The Golden Belt has a golden opportunity to become a turn around story and become a champion with regards to water sustainability. If we don’t have good quality and a good quantity of water we won’t have a vibrant and thriving community, Pollution is the process of excess concentration. This is what needlessly over-using water does.

There are many things we can do to reduce our water usage, from quicker showers, watering lawns less and planting drought tolerant native grass varieties like buffalo grass, fixing water leaks and dripping faucets, using a public swimming pool rather than backyard pools that are a hassle to keep clean any ways, better land management for ag producers, and developing a local market for locally produced ag products. It’ll take us all, big and small.

Water should be our top priority. It is essential to life by the way. 

—  Andrew Murphy