Barton County, MO Water Table Trend
Barton County, MO: what the water table is actually doing
Barton County's representative monitoring well shows depth to water declining faster than most declining counties, a fitted trend of 29.6 ft per decade over 89 years of readings.
One well stands in for Barton County's whole aquifer here, the honest simplification every page on this site carries.
What the well actually measured
The most recent reading put water 393.5 ft below land surface. Readings span 1937-01-01 to 2026-02-17, 56 measurements from USGS well MO005-372338094052801 (Golden City), part of the National Water Information System. The qualifying bar and the OLS fit behind this trend are documented in the methodology guide.
Where Barton County ranks
Of the 1,449 US counties with a usable trend, Barton County ranks 1442nd from fastest-rising to fastest-declining, 1 is the fastest-rising water table measured, 1449 the fastest-declining. About 11,717 people live in Barton County, Missouri. See the fastest-moving counties guide for how Barton County stacks up against the most extreme cases nationally.
What a declining table means for a well pump
Because Barton County's water table is actually declining, not just a general worry, a well owner here should consider comparing home-warranty plans that cover well-pump failure before one happens.
A dropping table says nothing about water quality
Whether Barton County's water table is rising or falling is independent of what's actually in the water. Depletion can concentrate naturally-occurring minerals, so it's worth checking directly with a water test rather than assuming a depth trend says anything about quality.