Unlocking aquifer sustainability through irrigator-driven groundwater conservation

Aquifer depletion due to intensive irrigation threatens global economies, food security and ecosystems. This Perspective examines the hydrological, social and economic complexities of managing groundwater resources, focusing on the Sheridan 6 Local Enhanced Management Area in the US High Plains aquifer. Here irrigator-led conservation efforts reduced groundwater use by 25% and slowed aquifer depletion by 65% while maintaining farmers’ incomes. This success resulted from a hybrid integration of bottom-up rule development with top-down enforcement, providing flexible multi-year water allocations and aligning management with local conditions. From this, we identify transferable governance tenets for sustainable groundwater management in similar regions. This Perspective analyses the key elements of the long-term success of an irrigator-led conservation programme in the United States from engineering, social and policy angles and identifies transferable governance lessons for other agricultural regions.