Page 11 - September/October Outdoor Oklahoma Magazine

As Great Plains communities struggle with drought and declin-
ing aquifers, playas — a relatively unknown natural resource — fill an
important role in replenishing and improving the quality of the region's
water supply.
Playas, also called lagoons, buffalo wallows and mud holes by locals,
are relatively small, round, shallow depressions that collect and hold
water from rainfall and runoff, creating temporary wetlands. Some dry
up within days. Others contain water for weeks or months.
With more than 80,000 scattered across the western Great Plains
— including throughout Oklahoma’s Panhandle — these seasonal wet-
lands provide water for wildlife and people.
University of Kansas geologist Bill Johnson has been investigat-
ing playas for more than 30 years. He says scientists have evidence Playas contribute as much as
playas are a primary source of recharging the Ogallala aquifer, that 95 percent of water that flows
vast but diminishing source of groundwater so vital to life on the
semi-arid plains. into the Ogallala, recharging the
Playas contribute as much as 95 percent of water that flows into the underground reservoir .
Ogallala, recharging the underground reservoir.
According to a U.S. Geological Survey literature review (Gurdak and
Roe, 2009) and a recent Kansas Geological Survey study (Johnson et al,
2019), recharge rates in playa basins are 10 to 1,000 times higher than
in other areas. Unaltered playas may contribute more than 3 inches of
water per year in the form of groundwater recharge.

JENA DONNELL/ODWC

A dry playa in the Oklahoma Panhandle.
HOW THEY FUNCTION
Aquifer recharge occurs through playa basins and along the perim-
eter of playas. Ken Rainwater, a professor in the Civil, Environmental,
and Construction Engineering Department at Texas Tech, said, “Even
though soils in the playa bottoms are clay, they dry out and desiccate
with big cracks between rainfall events. So, when you have your first
flush of water coming into the playa, it’s real easy for water to go down

SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2022 9