After decades of local inaction, Kansas lawmakers are pushing for big changes in irrigation to conserve water and save the Ogallala Aquifer.

Source: ‘Time for a Reckoning.’ Kansas Farmers Brace for Water Cuts to Save Ogallala Aquifer

Another wet season helped improve California’s snow drought, but other parts of the western United States have not been so fortunate.

Source: Western US faces snow drought as summer heats up | Courthouse News Service

AUSTIN, Texas —

Much of Central Texas is no longer in a drought thanks to recent rainfall. Right now, the U.S. Drought Monitor shows residents in several counties – including Travis, Williamson, Bastrop, Burnet and Llano – are out of drought conditions. So why are many areas, like Austin, still under drought water restrictions? 

Source: With much of Central Texas out of drought, why do water restrictions continue?

Source: West Texas Water Research Center Coming to Sul Ross State University | Morning Ag Clips

Wise County Commissioners are seeking clarity on the requirements for groundwater availability studies in the platting process with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). Pct. 2 Commissioner Kevin Burns will join Upper Trinity Groundwater Conservation District (UTGCD) Manager Doug Shaw June 24 to urge the TCEQ to provide a definition on what constitutes as

Source: County seeks clarification from TCEQ on groundwater studies – Wise County Messenger

Affected farmers in Idaho say the order to shut their water off was issued after they already paid to plant and fertilize their crops.

Source: Idaho farmers say water curtailment order will dry up land, push them out of business   • Idaho Capital Sun

Pecos County rancher Schuyler Wight says the Railroad Commission continues to plug wells. But each time they do, another one starts flowing.

Source: Another orphan well bursts in West Texas | The Texas Tribune

Colorado Basin states shared updates on high-stakes Colorado River negotiations, which resumed after lapsing earlier this year.

Source: States talk Colorado River future, hang-ups in negotiations at CU conference

The biggest changes took place around the Ogallala Aquifer, whose groundwater irrigates parts of numerous states, including Colorado, Texas and Wyoming.

Source: Tens of millions of acres of cropland lie abandoned, study shows

The river, which traces the U.S.-Mexico border, has turned into puddles in some places. A dispute with Mexico figures into the problem.

Source: The disappearing Rio Grande poses a threat to West Texas tourism – Marketplace