The Ogallala Aquifer is one of the world's largest underground reservoirs. It stretches across eight states in the United States of America, as shown below.

Question

Image courtesy of USGS

Many farmers in these eight states use water from the Ogallala Aquifer for their livestock and crops. This has caused a dramatic decrease in the water table of the Ogallala Aquifer. If the aquifer is completely emptied, it could take over 6,000 years to for it to refill naturally with precipitation. Which of these would help farmers decrease their impact on the Ogallala aquifer?
A.
A tool that measures evaporation and transpiration loss to inform farmers how much water the crops need.
B.
A sensor that predicts precipitation on the farm and then waters the crops before and after the precipitation.
C.
An automatic watering tool that gives crops the water they need when the Sun is at its highest point in the sky.
D.
A laser that scans the crops to inform farmers how many insects or birds came near their crops that day.

Answer 1

To help reduce the impact on the Ogallala Aquifer, farmers would benefit most from:

A. A tool that measures evaporation and transpiration loss to inform farmers how much water the crops need.

This option provides farmers with precise information about the water needs of their crops based on actual conditions, allowing them to optimize irrigation and reduce unnecessary water usage. This helps in conserving water from the Ogallala Aquifer.

The other options, while potentially useful for various reasons, do not directly address the efficient use of water in a way that would significantly reduce the strain on the aquifer.