Randy Olson, Melissa Farlow Photography

Image 1 of 1
Less

RANDY OLSON_MM8429_2481170.TIF

Add to Lightbox Download

The Lazbuddie, Texas, superintendent drives the school bus, and a family of three redheaded Mennonite children are last to get off at the end of the route.

The Texas Panhandle school district which doubles as a public water supplier, is trying to figure out how to keep the school and community alive as they run out of water. Over 200 students are drawn partly to a celebrated robotics program, but there is only 90 days of water left for 16 families. The school received federal funds for a new $360K well, but there are 88,000 wells nearby and the area has the least water from the aquifer underneath, the least regulation, the least recharge and the highest density of wells.
Counties are drawing groundwater faster than the underground aquifers can recharge. Historically, the state’s aquifers are in a decline which has led to water suppliers drilling and pumping deeper for water.

Copyright
RANDY OLSON
Image Size
6000x4000 / 137.4MB
olsonfarlow.com
Keywords
Contained in galleries
Ogallala Aquifer_National Geographic Magazine 8/2016
The Lazbuddie, Texas, superintendent drives the school bus, and a family of three redheaded Mennonite children are last to get off at the end of the route. <br /> <br /> The Texas Panhandle school district which doubles as a public water supplier, is trying to figure out how to keep the school and community alive as they run out of water. Over 200 students are drawn partly to a celebrated robotics program, but there is only 90 days of water left for 16 families. The school received federal funds for a new $360K well, but there are 88,000 wells nearby and the area has the least water from the aquifer underneath, the least regulation, the least recharge and the highest density of wells.<br /> Counties are drawing groundwater faster than the underground aquifers can recharge. Historically, the state’s aquifers are in a decline which has led to water suppliers drilling and pumping deeper for water.