SE Kan. aquifer focus of Monday meeting

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COLUMBUS, Kan. (AP) -- Water officials will gather in Columbus on Monday to discuss recent studies about the Ozark and Springfield Plateau aquifers.

David Barfield, chief engineer of the Kansas Department of Agriculture's division of water resources, will lead the meeting. The agenda includes a discussion of a water quantity model developed by the U.S. Geological Survey to assess groundwater resources in southeast Kansas.

The USGS released a report in August saying the Ozark aquifer, a primary source of water in the region, could go dry in places even with slight growth over the next 50 years.

Water levels have declined as much as 400 to 500 feet in some parts of the Ozark aquifer since 1960.